The Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Global Governance in the New Era

Global governance has become a central theme of the SCO in the new era, driven by the inclusion of India and Pakistan, stronger institutional synergy and cooperation between China and Russia, and US unilateralism and conservatism. Despite internal and external challenges, the SCO holds its unique advantage in global governance and will make due contributions to building a fair international order.

It has always been a primary concern for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to make lasting contributions to the improvement of global governance. As global affairs are undergoing drastic changes and the SCO’S regional influence has been constantly on the rise, the importance and urgency of the SCO’S involvement in global governance has been increasingly reflected in its development agenda. At the 2018 Qingdao summit, the SCO’S member states explicitly put forward an organization-wide position paper on global governance, which reaffirmed their commitment to building a more equitable and balanced world order based on an equal, cooperative, indivisible, comprehensive and sustainable security, promoting a new type of international relations featuring mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation, and advancing the common vision of building a community for a shared future for mankind.1 This declaration represents a major political consensus based on the common needs of the member states. Amid the global emergence of unilateralism and protectionism, the SCO countries, specifically by issuing a joint communique on simplifying trade procedures at the Qingdao summit, have sounded a strong and unified call for actively participating in globalization and resolutely safeguarding the multilateral trading system, which marked a milestone in the SCO’S proactive involvement in

global governance. The Bishkek Declaration of the SCO’S 2019 summit re-emphasized that we should further improve the global economic governance system, jointly safeguard the multilateral trading regime with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules as the cornerstone, and create a transparent, predictable and stable environment for cooperation in trade and investment. The aim of these efforts is to establish an open world economy in strict opposition to any fragmentation of global trade and to all forms of trade protectionism.2 The joint communique issued at the 2019 meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of Government equally stressed the urgency of reforming the WTO through an overhaul of key functions such as negotiation, supervision and dispute settlement, in order to improve the efficiency of its operations.3 Global governance has quite obviously become a central theme and major priority of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in the new era. This future of global governance not only concerns the development of the SCO itself, but also has fundamental implications for the future international and regional order.

History of SCO Participation in Global Governance

in global governance. Firstly, the SCO identified global governance as one of its main fields of activity. In its founding declaration the SCO explicitly committed itself to “establishing new, democratic, just and rational international political and economic order,”5 which was later reaffirmed in the SCO Charter passed in 2002 and the Treaty on Long-term Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation among the SCO Member States in 2007. This series of policy guidelines made global governance, in parallel with safeguarding regional stability and promoting regional development, one of the SCO’S three major tasks. The SCO’S acquisition of observer status in the United Nations General Assembly in December 2004 marked the official recognition by the UN, the world’s most authoritative global governance institution, and offered the organization an effective platform for its participation in global governance. Secondly, the SCO contributed new concepts to the idea of global governance. The organization was the first to propose the “Shanghai Spirit” of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diverse civilizations, and pursuit of common development in international relations. It suggested an active practice of these new concepts of security, cooperation, and civilization with winwin cooperation at the core, thus contributing the “SCO philosophy” to the global governance framework. And lastly, the SCO put forward new propositions for global governance. In view of the severe challenges facing international politics and security, the SCO raised its voice and presented solutions typical for the SCO approach. These include calling on the international community to “develop, as soon as possible, a Comprehensive Convention on Combating International Terrorism and Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism acceptable to all parties,”6 and establish a global system to “address new threats and challenges where the central coordinating role would belong to the UN and its Security

Council.”7 Furthermore, the SCO heads of states issued appeals to conclude a “comprehensive agreement on non-deployment of weapons in outer space and non-use of force or threat of force against outer space objects,”8 to support “rational and necessary reforms of the United Nations,”9 and to consolidate the international system so that it can guarantee strategic stability, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and strong international cooperation in the field of information security.10

In this initial stage of its development, the SCO was mostly concentrating on building its organizational structure, and the condition of its member states did not allow for more proactive involvement in global governance. Among the SCO states, only Kyrgyzstan and China had acceded to the World Trade Organization (WTO) at the time, while the others remained outside of the WTO. During this period, the SCO was still a rather inconspicuous follower of global governance affairs, with limited real influence and contributions.

From 2008 to 2017 the SCO made first steps to actively participate in global governance. First of all, China and Russia each began to play a leading part in the establishment of international bodies equipped with global governance functions, which in turn created favorable conditions for the SCO’S involvement in global governance. The two nations, which serve as the SCO’S dual engine, both joined the Group of 20 (G20) in 2008, and together helped establish the BRICS mechanism in 2009, a multilateral policy framework composed of emerging countries. The fact that China and Russia are also permanent members of the UN Security Council, gave them additional weight and credibility for getting involved in governance matters on a global scale. In this context, the SCO became a major platform 7 “Declaration by the Heads of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization,” Shanghai Cooperation Organization, http://eng.sectsco.org/load/193445.

8 Ibid.

9 “Declaration by the Heads of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (Astana, July5,2005),” Shanghai Cooperation Organization, http://eng.sectsco.org/load/197543.

10 “Statement by the Heads of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on International Information Security (Shanghai, June 15, 2006),” Shanghai Cooperation Organization, http:// eng.sectsco.org/load/197770.

for the two countries to more actively exercise significant global governance functions. Secondly, China and Russia both elevated the status of global governance in their diplomacy, and respectively put forward major initiatives with global governance implications, using the SCO as their indispensable central hub for implementation. In addition, China proposed and launched the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013-2014, which has been hailed as a uniquely Chinese approach to global governance, incorporating a global governance concept of wide consultations, joint contributions, and mutual benefits. Concurrently, China initiated and supported the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the BRICS New Development Bank, which significantly enriched the SCO’S policy framework and scope of action, and thus gave it more confidence to shape the global governance arena. At the same time, Russia put forward the vision of a Eurasian Union and the initiative of a Greater Eurasian Partnership, with the intention of claiming its rightful role in shaping the regional and international order.11 More importantly, the joint statement on aligning the Silk Road Economic Belt with the Eurasian Economic Union signed by China and Russia in 2015 explicitly identified the SCO as the main platform for the synergies between the two initiatives, thus giving the organization a strong momentum to contribute more effectively to global governance with the support of China and Russia. Finally, as most of its member states joined the WTO, the SCO began placing greater emphasis on getting involved in global economic governance, with equal importance attached to political and economic aspects. The fact that all SCO countries except Uzbekistan had become WTO members has done much to create positive conditions in this regard. In this second development period, the SCO not only continued to pursue international political and security issues, but also began to acquire a growing reputation on issues that affect the global economy and economic governance. Proposals were submitted which included establishing a more just, equal, all-embracing, well-regulated and balanced international financial 11 Караганов С. С Востока на Запад, или Большая Евразия. // Российская газета. 24 Октября 2016, https://rg.ru/2016/10/24/politolog-karaganov-povorot-rossii-k-rynkam-azii-uzhe-sostoialsia.html.

regime that caters to the interests of all participants and provides all states with an equal access to the benefits of globalization.12 Recommendations were made for a profound transformation of the global economy through large-scale structural changes, diversification, improvements in the competitiveness of economies and innovative development.13 Other important suggestions included ensuring economic and financial stability under conditions of economic globalization; conducting world trade by using the principles of transparency, non-discrimination and rules that apply equally to all participants; countering trade protectionism in all manifestations, including the removal of existing trade barriers and preventing the emergence of new ones; advocating the formation of an open global economy and the consolidation of the multilateral trading system.14

The membership enlargement in 2017 empowered the SCO to make proactive contributions to improving global governance. First, the exceptional expansion of membership of the SCO has significantly elevated its status and influence in global governance, boosting its confidence for playing an even greater role. With the accession of India and Pakistan, the SCO has developed into the largest regional and international organization, simultaneously incorporating China, Russia and India. The combination of these three global emerging powers has transformed the SCO into a truly major force capable of competing with traditional Western powers in the realm of global governance. Furthermore, the goal of fostering a new type of international relations and building a community with a shared future for mankind provides a new and strong conceptual underpinning for the SCO’S enhanced role in global governance. The commitment to “promoting the construction of international relations of a new type based on mutual respect, justice, equality, mutually beneficial cooperation, and

the formation of a common vision of building a community for the shared future of humankind,” as it was first expressed in the Qingdao Declaration of the SCO Council of Heads of State, was again reiterated in the 2019 Bishkek Declaration, clearly indicating that global governance had become a new major growth factor for the organization. Consequently, the SCO’S global governance ambitions have resulted in more proactive international engagement. The release of a ground-breaking joint communique on simplifying trade procedures at the Qingdao summit demonstrates the member states’ resolute position and determination to promote world trade facilitation and liberalization. The 2018 Qingdao Declaration and the 2019 Bishkek Declaration were manifestations of the SCO’S attitude and position specifically on the global economic governance system. Both of them firmly opposed unilateralism and protectionism, and advocated the building of an open world economy, thus declaring a steadfast commitment to actively seek participation in global economic governance affairs. In July 2017, China and Russia signed the Joint Declaration of the Joint Feasibility Studies on the Eurasian Economic Partnership Agreement. Along with the formal signing of an agreement on trade and economic cooperation between China and the Eurasian Economic Union in May 2018, this represented an additional substantial step taken by the SCO to enhance its further participation in global governance.

Motivation behind the Enhanced Global Governance Participation

applauded as an epoch-making event in the SCO’S development. It clearly marked the advent of a whole new historical period for the organization, and significantly empowered the SCO’S position in global governance. The expansion increased the number of formal SCO members from six to eight, and the SCO countries’ share of the world’s total population rose from 25 percent to 44 percent. The collective size of SCO countries expanded from 30.17 million to 33.84 million square kilometers, accounting for about one quarter of the earth’s land area, and the share of their combined GDP grew from 15 percent to nearly 25 percent of global GDP.15 Having become the largest international organization in terms of population and territory, the overall power and international influence of the SCO were both significantly enhanced, leading to a sharp rise in status and governance potential not only for the Eurasian region, but even for the world. At the same time, the accession of India and Pakistan signifies the strong intrinsic appeal and attractiveness of the SCO’S new concepts and proposals for global governance, with the “Shanghai Spirit” at its core. This has greatly enhanced the SCO’S confidence to advance the building of a new framework for conducting fair and reasonable international politics and trade. While India and Pakistan are developing countries, India is also a major rising power and emerging market economy in the world. The entry of these two states further highlights the SCO’S advantageous nature of being a high-ranking global governance mechanism for developing countries. As the organization can now be a leading voice representing the interests of developing countries within the global governance system, the hope is justified that the global governance landscape and the international order can be led into a direction more favorable to developing countries.

Second, stronger institutional synergy and cooperation between China and Russia has added momentum to the SCO’S participation in global governance. Chinese-russian cooperation exerts decisive influence on the SCO’S involvement in global governance. By combining forces 15 Qi Zhenhong, ed., pp.3-4.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Looking Back and Looking Forward (20012018),

and making more joint efforts in recent years, the institutional synergy and character of China-russia cooperation in terms of global and regional governance has entered a new period. In the Joint Statement on Cooperation on the Construction of Joint Eurasian Economic Union and the Silk Road Projects signed by Chinese and Russian leaders in May 2015, the SCO was explicitly identified as the responsible cooperation platform,16 which laid the legal foundation for bilateral coordination in matters of regional governance. The completion of joint feasibility studies in connection with the Eurasian Economic Partnership Agreement by the two countries marked a new phase of institutional synergy of the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative and the Russian Greater Eurasian Partnership initiative. This new dimension of bilateral cooperation in global and regional governance is paving the way and removing obstacles for the SCO’S participation in global governance from a higher vantage point.

By paying significantly more attention to and making greater investments in global governance issues, China and Russia have effectively driven the SCO’S global governance participation forward. China’s main objective when conducting major-country diplomacy has been to foster a new type of international relations and building a community with a shared future for mankind, making it show stronger commitment and confidence to play a more important role in global governance. By introducing this objective into the Qingdao Declaration and the Bishkek Declaration, China has turned its proposals into a collective consensus of SCO member countries, thus equipping the SCO with a powerful theory tool for its proactive global governance engagement. In his speech at the SCO Qingdao summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the SCO countries to advocate extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits in global governance and push for reform of the global governance system, and jointly build a community with shared future for humanity. On this occasion, he also presented his vision of development, security, cooperation,

civilization, and global governance,17 which interpreted and summarized the “Shanghai Spirit” in a new context, and set out the basic principles to be followed in fostering a new type of international relations and building a community with a shared future for mankind. In his speech at the Bishkek summit, President Xi further proposed that we must make the SCO an example of solidarity and mutual trust, common security, mutually beneficial cooperation, and inclusiveness and mutual learning.18 This serves as the Chinese approach to the SCO assuming a more prominent role in global governance, and has provided continuous momentum to the organization’s engagement in global governance.

Russia has consistently played a crucial role in matters of global governance. Faced with increasing uncertainties in the global governance framework, and confronted with escalating sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union in recent years, Russia has stepped up its participation in the construction of a new international political and economic order. It has also more frequently put forward propositions and initiatives for a reform of the global governance mechanism, in an effort to shape the discourse for an overhaul of the global governance system. In June 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin formally initiated the Greater Eurasian Partnership at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, with more than 40 prospective participants including countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the SCO and ASEAN, as well as South Korea, Japan, Israel and Egypt. According to Putin, the initiative is also open to the European Union despite current tensions in relations between the two sides.19 In essence, the Greater Eurasian Partnership is Russia’s global governance blueprint and also its approach to enhancing 17 “Full Text of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s Speech at the 18th SCO Qingdao Summit,” Xinhua, June 10, 2018, http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-06/10/c_137244587.htm.

18 “Xi Jinping Attends the 19th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and Delivers an Important Speech,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, June 14, 2019, https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/wjb_663304/zzjg_663340/dozys_664276/ dqzzywt_664402/t1673206.shtml.

19 Путин В. В. Выступление на пленарном заседании XX Петербургского международного экономического форума. 17 Июня 2016, http://www.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/52178.

the SCO’S global governance participation. Currently, Russia is vigorously promoting and refining the initiative, whose successful implementation will objectively advance the SCO’S involvement in the global governance process.

Third, deepening global governance participation is essential for the SCO to respond to the United States’ unilateralist and conservative tendencies. Since taking office, US President Donald Trump has followed the “America First” doctrine, abandoning the liberal international order it once promoted. Instead, the US has abruptly turned towards unilateralism and conservatism, severely undermining the global governance process and damaging the prestige and effectiveness of relevant governance mechanisms. The global governance landscape is thus becoming more and more fragmented, as the regular and steady operation of major multilateral institutions such as the United Nations, the Asia-pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and the Group of 20 (G20) are experiencing severe disruptions. Simultaneously, as US guided only by its self-interest, it has been recklessly instigating great-power competition and even confrontation, by defining both China and Russia as “strategic competitors,” and trying at all costs to build an international and regional order excluding these two countries. After the United States introduced its so-called Indopacific, Afghanistan, and Central Asia strategies, the fair and reasonable international order promoted by China and Russia, with the UN and the spirit of multilateralism at its core, has come under unprecedented strain. By causing serious disorder and imbalances in global governance, the US is posing tremendous challenges to global and regional stability. It is under these circumstances that the SCO, as an important force for safeguarding regional and global stability, has thrust itself forward without hesitation to uphold multilateralism and win-win cooperation, prevent the reversal of global governance and ensure the sustaining momentum for building a just and equitable international order. This is the only option for the SCO to effectively relieve the pressure stemming from American hegemony and power politics, safeguard an international and regional environment favorable for peace and development, and steer global governance in a reasonable direction.

Favorable Conditions for the SCO’S Enhanced Global Governance Participation

The SCO is presently standing at a critical juncture of preserving the achievements of the past and forging ahead into the future. Whether in relation to its external environment or to serve its own development purposes, the SCO is in urgent need of getting more involved in global governance. As its character is that of a multilateral institution that has considered global governance improvement as its responsibility from the outset, the SCO will not only play its due part, but is highly capable of making even greater contributions to the global governance process.

First, the SCO’S future-oriented governance ideas possess a conceptual underpinning, which is able to lead global governance toward a hopeful future. Avoiding the mistakes and the mentality of the Cold War, rejecting the zero-sum mindset and the pattern of civilizational clashes, the SCO has instead advocated the “Shanghai Spirit.” It represents a paradigm contrary to the conventional Western concepts that dominate today’s international organizations, and sets itself apart from the more or less closed, exclusive, and compulsory nature of traditional and many contemporary international organizations and blocs. The SCO embodies a new pattern of partnership, not an alliance, with cooperation instead of confrontation as its main function. The “Shanghai Spirit” is promoting a new vision of cooperation, which ensures that consultations are held on an equal footing, that a consensus for all countries can be reached regardless of their size, and that peace, development through cooperation and other core interests of member countries are guaranteed. Concerning regional cooperation, it endorses an equal and mutually beneficial approach to achieve win-win outcomes. The “Shanghai Spirit” has established a new security concept of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, upholding the basic principles of non-alignment, non-confrontation, and non-targeting of any third party. It opposes interference in the internal affairs of member countries, and

supports open and strategic cooperation to enhance mutual trust and create a stable security environment for regional development. It promotes a new type of civilizational model characterized by inclusiveness, full respect for cultural diversity, and free choice of development paths for all countries involved. Inclusiveness is exercised by seeking common ground while shelving differences, advancing exchanges and cross-civilizational dialogue to strengthen regional identity and facilitate harmonious conditions for regional construction.

This new approach, which the SCO has not only proposed but is already practicing, is clearing the way toward building a fair and reasonable international political and economic order, pointing to a new level for global governance in the post-cold War era. The strong commitment shown at the Qingdao summit to fostering a new type of international relations and building a community with a shared future for mankind is an echo of the original “Shanghai Spirit” and gives it fresh relevance in the new era. It not only guides the SCO’S future development, but also contributes forwardlooking ideas to global governance in the present situation. In his speech at the Qingdao summit, President Xi put forward his vision to carry forward the “Shanghai Spirit” in five aspects,20 which won him extensive endorsement from other member states. They specify the commitment to building a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future, and clarify the underlying method for realizing that goal, thus integrating it with the “Shanghai Spirit.” They represent the trend of the times and the aspirations of the vast majority of developing countries, and they constitute a realistic guideline for improving the values of global governance and enabling the construction of a new international order that better reflects the interests of emerging countries in the midst of a fragmented global governance landscape. 20 They include upholding innovative, coordinated, green, open and inclusive development, pursuing common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, promoting open and inclusive cooperation for win-win outcomes, championing equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness between civilizations, and following the principle of achieving shared growth through discussion and collaboration in engaging in global governance.

Second, the SCO values rules and institution-building, which serves as a useful example for the global governance system and can help avert disintegration of global governance. One major problem concerning all countries around the world irrespective of their specific circumstances, is how to formulate a set of rules and institutions for an effective global governance system that is acceptable to all sides. The practical experience the SCO has gained through their activities so far is of crucial value to the resolution of difficulties in global governance management. Since its inception, the SCO has been actively and steadily advancing its internal capabilities for institution-building, following a gradual approach of advancing from easier to more difficult tasks, seeking common ground while shelving differences, and achieving mutually beneficial outcomes. Shortly after its establishment, the SCO passed the Shanghai Convention on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism, making it the world’s first institution to clearly define these “three evils” in a binding legal document, thereby warranting cooperation between member states for fighting them together. On this basis, the SCO successively adopted the Convention against Terrorism in June 2009 and the Convention on Countering Extremism in June 2017, which specified the legal code for a more systematic and effective combat against the “three evils”. This has helped accumulate valuable experience in building the institutions needed for similar efforts on a global level. At the same time, in response to regional cross-border crime such as drug and illegal arms trafficking, the SCO has passed additional legal documents, including the Agreement on Cooperation in Combating Illicit Traffic of Narcotic Drugs, Psychotropic Substances, and Precursors in June 2004, the Agreement on Cooperation in Combating Illicit Trafficking in Arms, Ammunition and Explosives in August 2008, and the Agreement on Cooperation in Ensuring International Information Security in 2009. These agreements constitute a comprehensive legal and institutional basis for the SCO’S security cooperation, and they have effectively safeguarded regional stability. The SCO’S legal institution on security cooperation has not only enhanced the security governance within the region, but is also regarded as a blueprint for

global security governance.

The SCO is also institutionalizing economic cooperation among its member states. In 2014, leaders of the SCO countries signed the Agreement on Creating Favorable Conditions for International Road Transportation, which marked a milestone in the establishment of appropriate institutions for the SCO’S economic cooperation. In the new Program of Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation until 2035, approved by the SCO Heads of Government Council in 2019, the SCO countries agreed to further promote the facilitation and liberalization of regional trade and investment, and to constantly improve the institutional arrangements of regional economic cooperation. At present, the member countries are actively negotiating an agreement on trade facilitation and a framework agreement on trade in the services sector. This will lay an indispensable legal foundation for regional trade facilitation and serve as the SCO’S new benchmark for global economic governance. The SCO’S approach and practice in terms of institutional cooperation brings important insights for building a more reasonable

international political and economic order.

Lastly, by advocating openness, strengthening international cooperation, and actively building a multilateral network of partnerships, the SCO’S participation in global governance is on a sound footing. Establishing contact and ways of coordination with global governance bodies is one of the main paths for the SCO to get directly involved in matters of global governance. Regarding the United Nations as the core of global governance, the SCO is dedicated to safeguarding the UN’S authority, building relationships and conducting cooperation with the UN and its subsidiary bodies, and engaging in reform of global governance through the UN platform. In 2004, the SCO was invited to participate as an observer in the sessions and proceedings of the General Assembly. In 2009, the 64th session of the General Assembly adopted a resolution on cooperation with the SCO, in which it emphasized the importance of strengthening dialogue, cooperation and coordination between the two sides. In 2010, the UN and SCO Secretariats agreed in the Joint Declaration on Cooperation to work together in responding to new challenges and threats facing the international community. From 2011 on, memoranda of understanding on cooperation were signed between the SCO Secretariat on one side and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the Secretariat of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) respectively.21 In March 2019, the Executive Committee of the SCO Regional Anti-terrorist Structure (RATS) and the Counter-terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED) of the UN Security Council signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at enhancing the strategic framework of cooperation between the two entities. Moreover, the SCO has been conducting irregular communication and dialogues with the UN Development Program, the UN Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Bank. 21 Qi Zhenhong, ed., pp.95-96.

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22 Thomas Ambrosio, “Catching the ‘Shanghai Spirit’: How the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Promotes Authoritarian Norms in Central Asia,” Europe Asia Studies, October 2008, pp.1321-1344.

23 Evan A. Feigenbaum, “Shanghai Cooperation Organization, Central Asia, and the United States,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, June 23, 2016, http://carnegieendowment.org/2016/06/23/ shanghai-cooperation-organization-central-asia-and-united-states-pub-63907.

The Chinese Hospital Association and the Committee of Good-neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (GNFCC SCO) hold a webinar on combating COVID-19 on July 7.