A flowerbed themed on the SCO Summit 2025 is seen at the square of Tianjin Railway Station on August 26, 2025. Photo: VCG

Tianjin Municipality, a major port city in North China, has been getting ready to host the largest-ever Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, scheduled for Sunday and Monday, according to officials at a press briefing on Friday, and the city will welcome leaders from Asia, Europe, and Africa who will be charting the blueprint for the bloc's next decade of development. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping will chair the 25th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO and the "SCO Plus" Meeting, and deliver keynote speeches, while more than 20 foreign leaders and 10 heads of international organizations are expected to attend the meeting, the Xinhua News Agency reported earlier. 

This summit is unprecedented in scale, with numerous representatives from various countries and international organizations invited to attend, many of whom are participating in an SCO summit for the first time, Zhao Huirong, an Eastern European studies expert from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times, noting that the wide and active participation in the summit in Tianjin reflects once again the SCO's openness and inclusiveness, as well as its commitment to the principle of multilateralism.

"Most SCO member states are developing countries and emerging economies, for whom development is a shared and urgent priority... Through cooperation to promote the common and sustainable development of its members, the SCO summit is expected to inject new momentum into regional and global peace and development," Zhao said.

Preparations well underway

As the host city of this summit, Tianjin has completed all preparations and is ready to welcome the opening of the event, according to the press briefing held at the media center for the SCO summit 2025 in Tianjin on Friday, the CCTV News reported.

To ensure smooth preparations for the summit, Tianjin has made moderate upgrades to the main venue, the Tianjin Meijiang Convention Center, optimizing its overall functionality and presentation, according to relevant officials at the press meeting.

At the center of the comprehensive service desk in the press center of the SCO Tianjin Summit, a humanoid smart robot smiles and gestures toward reporters. It can communicate in three languages: Chinese, Russian, and English. Real-time translation machines are also available, providing multilingual consultation services.

Currently, nearly 3,000 journalists from both domestic and foreign media have registered to attend the summit and jointly witness this historic moment, according to Xinhua. 

Embracing multilateralism

Founded in East China's Shanghai on June 15, 2001, the SCO is the first regional international organization that was co-founded by China and named after a Chinese city, Xinhua reported on Friday.

Over the past 24 years, the SCO has pioneered and practiced the Shanghai Spirit - featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations and pursuit of common development, the report said.

The Shanghai Spirit echoes the principles of the UN Charter and builds on the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence, said Fan Xianrong, an ambassador responsible for the work of China's SCO national coordinator, according to the report.

"It has transcended outdated notions such as the clash of civilizations, Cold War mentality, and zero-sum mindset, winning growing recognition from the international community," he said.

The SCO has grown from its six founding members into a 26-nation family spanning Asia, Europe and Africa -- comprising 10 member states, two observer states and 14 dialogue partners. It is now the world's largest regional international organization in terms of both geographical area and population.

"The SCO will keep its door open, welcoming more countries that embrace the Shanghai Spirit into the SCO family," Fan said.

Speaking at a press conference for the upcoming summit in Tianjin, Ling Ji, vice minister of commerce, said that currently, the rise of protectionism and unilateralism is severely impacting the international economic and trade order. The SCO adheres to the principles of equality, mutual benefit, mutual respect, openness, and inclusiveness, with regional economic cooperation showing strong resilience and vitality, Ling said.

In 2024, China's trade volume with other member countries reached around $512.4 billion, marking a 2.7 percent year-on-year increase, double the amount during China's hosting of the Qingdao Summit in 2018, according to Ling.

Ahead of the SCO Tianjin Summit scheduled for August 31 to September 1, former SCO secretary-general Vladimir Norov told the Global Times in an exclusive interview that the SCO is "not only a forum for discussions but also an organization that builds, connects and protects."

Norov said that Tianjin, "a modern port metropolis, a symbol of connectivity and economic dynamism," provides an especially fitting venue for discussing the SCO's future. He highlighted three priority areas for cooperation - security, trade and connectivity, and the digital economy.

The SCO has a role as a genuine platform for amplifying the voice of the Global South, said Mars Sariev, a political scientist from Kyrgyzstan and an expert on Central Asian issues, Xinhua reported. In today's multipolar world, Sariev said, developing countries seek to defend their interests independently, without reliance on traditional power centers.

On the upcoming SCO summit in Tianjin, Sariev expressed high expectations for deepening cooperation in key areas, including economic integration, regional security coordination, and the promotion of environmental and digital initiatives.

Against the backdrop of global uncertainty, the opening of the SCO summit is expected to bring more certainty and stability to regional and global development, fostering greater consensus among the many developing countries that make up a significant part of the SCO, Zhou Mi, a senior researcher at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, told the Global Times on Friday, noting that multilateralism would be among the key principles upheld at the summit.

In addition to traditional sectors such as energy and transportation, Zhou noted that SCO member countries can also expand their cooperation in booming sectors with high complementarity, such as artificial intelligence, data security, and new energy vehicles, to promote sustainable growth. "The future potential for cooperation is vast and promising," Zhou said.