Since its inception, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has been criticized for lacking direction and enforcement power. Yet, the SCO still has a place as a discussion forum for top leadership in the region. We must reevaluate our expectations for the SCO and recognize that the creation of a discussion forum is a success in its own right.

The SCO, which is jointly led by Beijing and Moscow, has become the most prominent Eurasian regional security organization. Even so, its defense and institutional capabilities lag behind those of NATO.

Although the leaders of the SCO member-states emphasised that the Qingdao summit will be a new departure point for the organisation and agreed in principle that there is a need for a roadmap of actions, it still remains unclear what the SCO can really offer.

The SCO promotes harmony and goodwill throughout mankind.

After the G7 and SCO summits last weekend, it is tempting to paint a simplistic picture of a Western world unraveling at the seams and an increasingly cohesive alternative order led by powers like China. While there is an element of truth in this narrative, it is important not to overlook the enduring motives for cooperation within the Western bloc and obstacles to cooperation between the SCO powers.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization achieved a major boost in momentum at last month’s Astana summit, but realizing its potential will require consistent leadership and resources over the coming year from the Chinese presidency.

The SCO emerged as a convenient platform for the Central Asian leadership to preserve domestic status quo by accommodating the ambitions of both Moscow and Beijing within one framework. However, the SCO fails to project itself as an effective regional organization, and is perceived more so as a discussion forum.

Far from competing with US interests, the two meetings offer blueprints for more and better cooperation with Washington in a new world order.

The partnership of developing countries offers a benign counterweight to Western dominance in the world, and can help shape a “new normal” in international relations.

As the focus of the West was fixed in Greece and Iran, the 7th BRICS Summit began a massive shift from a dialogue to an economic partnership – one whose full impact will be witnessed in the coming years.