SCO: Unmistakable Shift in Indian Foreign Policy Outlook
STORIES, ANALYSES, EXPERT VIEWS
Chinese President Xi Jinping Monday took centre stage at the SCO plus leaders’ summit proposing the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) as he advocated practising multilateralism.
Xi’s Global Governance Initiative (GGI): Xi, while addressing the SCO leaders’ summit, said, ‘I wish to propose the Global Governance Initiative (GGI). I look forward to working with all countries for a more just and equitable global governance system and advancing toward a community with a shared future for humanity.’ Xi pressed his vision for a new global security and economic order that prioritises the ‘Global South’.
He said, ‘First, we should adhere to sovereign equality……Second, Xi said, We should abide by international rule of law….Third we should practice multilateralism. We should uphold the vision of global governance featuring extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit, strengthen solidarity and coordination, and oppose unilateralism. We should firmly safeguard the status and authority of the UN, and ensure its irreplaceable, key role in global governance.’
India’s clear message of a policy shift
More than the outcomes of the SCO, PM Modi’s decision to visit China was a clear message from the government on a shift in its foreign policy outlook. It has been seven years since PM Modi had travelled to China, and his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping was their first such bilateral engagement since the military standoff of 2020. It has been three years since PM Modi attended the SCO summit, a Eurasian grouping seen as decidedly anti-western.
Meanwhile, photographs of the bonhomie between Modi, Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, writes The Hindu “evoked memories of an inactive Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral. The bilateral meeting with China saw the two leaders give their approval to the normalisation process initiated in October 2024, leading from troop disengagement along the LAC……”
It was significant that the Tianjin Declaration included strong language against the ‘cross-border movement of terrorists’, albeit condemning the Pahalgam attack and attacks in Balochistan against Pakistani forces, in equal measure. The declaration also saw the entire SCO membership find common ground on contentious issues such as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, and condemnation of U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, although India maintained its opposition to the paragraph supporting China’s Belt and Road Initiative. Xi’s plans for an SCO Development Bank, and PM Modi’s suggestion of initiating a ‘Civilisational Dialogue’ between SCO members found mention.
The Tianjin Declaration: diplomatic win for India on terrorism
Experts believe that SCO strong condemnation of the April 22 Pahalgam terrorist attack, was a major diplomatic win for India. The Declaration stressed that the perpetrators, organizers and sponsors of such attacks ‘must be brought to justice’. The SCO nations also strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, underlining that double standards in the fight against the menace are ‘unacceptable’. The 10-member grouping, which includes China, Russia and India, called on the international community to combat terrorism, including cross-border movement of terrorists.
In a joint declaration adopted at the conclusion of the two-day SCO Summit in Tianjin in China, which was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin and other world leaders, the SCO said, “The Member States strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on 22 April 2025. They expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the dead and the wounded. They further stated that perpetrators, organisers and sponsors of such attacks must be brought to justice.”
The condemnation of the April 22 Pahalgam attack came after PM Modi’s appeal to the SCO leaders to adopt a resolute position against terrorism and to work collectively to eliminate the menace.
In the Tianjin Declaration, the member states, while reaffirming their firm commitment to the fight against terrorism, separatism, and extremism, stressed the inadmissibility of attempts to use terrorist, separatist and extremist groups for mercenary purposes.
Earlier on June 26, India refused to sign a joint declaration at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meeting in China’s Qingdao, which as it did not have any mention of the dastardly Pahalgam attack but mentioned incidents in Pakistan.
In the Tianjin Declaration Monday, the member states recognised the leading role of sovereign States and their competent authorities in countering terrorist and extremist threats.
The Declaration also echoed the theme of ‘One Earth, One Family and One Future’, recognising India’s initiatives.
Non-discriminatory and multilateral trading system
The heads of member countries of the SCO also agreed to uphold and strengthen an open, transparent, fair, non-discriminatory and multilateral trading system based on universally recognised international principles and rules, which promote the development of an open global economy.
The SCO summit adopted a statement on support for the multilateral trading system. ‘Member States oppose unilateral coercive measures, including those of an economic nature, that contravene the UN Charter and other norms of international law, the rules and principles of the World Trade Organisation, damaging the interests of international security, including its food and energy components, negatively affecting the global economy, undermining fair competition, hindering international cooperation and the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals,’ the joint declaration states.
Deepening people-centred cooperation
SCO member states favoured further deepening people-centred cooperation on issues related to improving the well-being and living standards of the population in the SCO area. They will continue to implement the Programme of Multilateral Trade and Economic Cooperation, as well as the SCO Economic Development Strategy for the period up to 2030 and the Action Plan for its implementation by the interested parties, the joint statement said.
Cooperation in Artificial Intelligence
The Tianjin Declaration of the SCO Council of Heads of States, which was signed and adopted at the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit, outlines commitments among member states on Artificial Intelligence, among other areas.
The SCO member countries, which includes India, expressed their readiness to work together to prevent risks in order to continuously improve the security, accountability, reliability, transparency, inclusiveness, trustworthiness and fairness of artificial intelligence technologies for the benefit of all humanity.
