Wednesday 3rd of September 2025
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sovereign development and rejection of the western model of globalization....

 

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in China has already emerged as one of the defining political events of 2025. It underscored the SCO’s growing role as a cornerstone of a multipolar world and highlighted the Global South’s consolidation around the principles of sovereign development, non-interference, and rejection of the Western model of globalization.

 

The West had its century. The future belongs to these leaders now
What Western media dismissed as a “club of autocrats” has grown into the Global South’s blueprint for a post-Western world.

BY Farhad Ibragimov

 

What gave the gathering an added layer of symbolism was its connection to the upcoming September 3 military parade in Beijing, marking the 80th anniversary of victory in the Sino-Japanese War and the end of World War II. Such parades are a rarity in China – the last one was held in 2015 – underscoring how exceptional this moment is for Beijing’s political self-identity and its bid to project both historical continuity and global ambition.

The central guest at both the summit and the forthcoming parade was Russian President Vladimir Putin. His presence carried not only symbolic weight but strategic meaning as well. Moscow continues to serve as a bridge among key players across Asia and the Middle East – a role that matters all the more against the backdrop of a fractured international security order.

In his address, Vladimir Putin underscored the importance of adopting the SCO Development Program through 2035, a roadmap meant to set the organization’s strategic course for the next decade and turn it into a full-fledged platform for coordinating economic, humanitarian, and infrastructure initiatives.

Equally significant was Moscow’s support for China’s proposal to establish an SCO Development Bank. Such an institution could do more than just finance joint investment and infrastructure projects; it would also help member states reduce their dependence on Western financial mechanisms and blunt the impact of sanctions – pressures that Russia, China, Iran, India, and others all face to varying degrees.

Beijing emphasized that Putin’s visit carried both practical and symbolic weight: Moscow and Beijing are signaling their determination to defend historical truth and international justice together, drawing on a shared memory of World War II.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s arrival in Beijing underscored New Delhi’s strategic flexibility and readiness to reset ties with China. Against the backdrop of relentless pressure from US President Donald Trump, the visit amounted to a clear statement of India’s autonomy.

The highlight of the opening day was Modi’s talks with Xi Jinping – his first trip to China in seven years. Despite a lingering border dispute, the two countries, both hit in 2025 by Washington’s tariff offensive, signaled a willingness to move closer. Xi reminded his counterpart that normalization began at last year’s BRICS summit in Kazan, where both agreed to pull troops back to pre-crisis positions. “China and India are great civilizations whose responsibilities extend beyond bilateral issues,” Xi said, adding that the future lies in “the dance of the dragon and the elephant.”

Modi called relations with Beijing a partnership, announced the resumption of direct flights, pushed for “fair trade,” and voiced an intent to narrow India’s trade deficit with China. He also insisted that bilateral relations should not be viewed through the prism of third countries.

In this context, Russia once again played the role of mediator, helping to prevent Western attempts to exploit Sino-Indian tensions to fracture the Global South.

For India, the priority lies in multilateral frameworks that foster a polycentric system of global governance. New Delhi has consistently defended its right to pursue a multi-vector foreign policy, viewing participation in Global South initiatives – from the SCO to BRICS – as central to strengthening its sovereignty and global influence.

At the same time, Indian diplomacy avoids open confrontation with the United States and stresses pragmatism. Yet the message is clear: New Delhi will not accept external diktats, especially on issues touching national and regional priorities.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also made the trip to China. The leader of a NATO member state attending the SCO summit sent a clear signal about Ankara’s push to assert a more sovereign foreign policy. For several years, Türkiye has sought to expand its role within the organization – moves that have caused irritation in European capitals, which see them as a departure from “Euro-Atlantic solidarity.”

Ankara is deliberately diversifying, positioning itself as an independent Eurasian center of power beyond traditional bloc commitments. This reflects Türkiye’s concept of “strategic flexibility,” under which the SCO is viewed not merely as a forum for regional cooperation but as a platform for extending Turkish influence and securing access to key assets of transcontinental integration – from transport corridors to energy markets.

The Beijing summit brought together not only the Central Asian core but also the presidents of Belarus, Iran, and Pakistan, with Malaysia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan signaling interest in full membership. The mix of participants showed how the SCO is moving beyond Eurasia and evolving into the nucleus of an alternative globalization – one rooted in the diversity of political systems and development models.

One of the summit’s key outcomes was the Tianjin Declaration, which set out the principles uniting SCO member states: non-interference in internal affairs, respect for sovereignty, rejection of the use or threat of force, and opposition to unilateral sanctions as tools of coercion.

Equally telling was the absence of any mention of Ukraine. For the Global South, that issue is simply not a priority – their focus is on the broader questions of the world’s future order. As Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov put it, the meeting’s key result was the “orientation of the SCO+ countries toward defending their legitimate interests.”

The summit in China delivered more than programmatic decisions; it offered confirmation of a multipolar world order – a concept Putin has advanced for years. Multipolarity is no longer theoretical. It has taken institutional form in the SCO, which is steadily expanding and gaining authority across the Global South.

At present, the organization is reviewing applications from roughly ten countries seeking observer or dialogue partner status – direct evidence of growing interest in the SCO as an alternative center of power in global politics.

Equally significant is the surge of interest from the Arab world. Bahrain, Egypt, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE are already SCO dialogue partners – states central to the Middle East’s energy and investment architecture. Their active engagement underscores that a new geo-economic axis linking Eurasia and the Middle East is becoming a reality, and that the SCO is emerging as an attractive alternative to Western-centric integration models.

The SCO today is no longer a regional structure but a strategic center of gravity in global politics. It unites countries with different political systems yet a shared determination to defend sovereignty, advance their own models of development, and demand a fairer world order. What was once dismissed as a loose regional club has matured into a geopolitical platform for the Global South – an institution that challenges Western hegemony not with rhetoric, but with expanding membership, growing economic clout, and a common political vision.

From Beijing the message resonated loudly: the age of Western hegemony is over. Multipolarity is no longer theory – it is the reality of global politics, and the SCO is the engine driving it forward.

https://www.rt.com/news/623883-future-belongs-to-sco/

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

 

 

 

modi, Putin, xi....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGdjuuyAvCE

India DEEPENS Ties With Russia And China. A COLOSSAL Failure Of US Foreign Policy

 

The SCO Summit in Tianjin has started yesterday and the most notable image was one of President Xi Jinping, President Putin and India’s PM Modi all standing together. PM Modi has actually tweeted and made statements about longstanding Russia-India ties, while Xi Jinping has stressed that China will fight against international bullying. This happens on the backdrop of US punitive tariffs on India, a move criticised by most political analysts around the world. PM Modi has stated that India will continue to buy Russian energy as it’s the country’s strategic interest. FT has reported that the EU leaders will meet in Paris on the 4th of September and discuss the security guarantees they are willing to provide to Ukraine. Ursula von der Leyen and Friedrich Merz have given conflicting statements regarding troops deployment in Ukraine. Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto has stated that Hungary will block Ukraine’s accession to the EU. Zelensky has reminded Donald Trump that Russia is still not ready to end the war and he expects the US President to take action against Russia.

 

READ FROM TOP.

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

old and new....

The latest gathering of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Tianjin looks at first like another summit – handshakes, family portraits, scripted statements. But the meeting on August 31–September 1 is more than diplomatic theater: it is another marker of the end of the unipolar era dominated by the United States, and the rise of a multipolar system centered on Asia, Eurasia, and the Global South.

At the table were Chinese President Xi Jinping, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi – together representing more than a third of humanity and 3 of largest countries on Earth.

Xi unveiled a broad Global Governance Initiative, including a proposed SCO development bank, cooperation on artificial intelligence, and financial support for developing nations. Putin described the SCO as “a vehicle for genuine multilateralism” and called for a Eurasian security model beyond Western control. Modi’s presence – his first visit to China in years – and the powerful optics around his meeting with Putin, signaled that India is willing to be seen as part of this emerging order.

What just happened (and why it’s bigger than a photo-op)

 

The pitch: Xi is promoting an order that “democratizes” global governance and reduces dependence on US-centric finance (think: less dollar gravity, more regional institutions). Putin called the SCO a vehicle for “genuine multilateralism” and Eurasian security. By calling China a partner rather than a rival, Modi signaled New Delhi won’t be locked into Washington’s anti-China agenda.

The audience: More than 20 non-Western leaders were in the room, with United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres endorsing the event organisation – not a club meeting in the shadows, but a UN-centered frame at a China-led forum.

Translation: “We want the UN Charter back – not someone else’s in-house rules”

 

Beijing’s line is blunt: reject Cold War blocs and restore the UN system as the only universal legal baseline. That’s a direct rebuke to the post-1991 “rules-based international order”, drafted in Washington or Brussels and enforced selectively.

Examples are not hard to find. The 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia went ahead without a UN mandate, justified under the “responsibility to protect.” The 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq was launched despite the absence of Security Council approval – a war later admitted even by Western officials to have been based on false premises. In 2011, a UN resolution authorizing a no-fly zone over Libya was used by NATO to pursue outright regime change, leaving behind a failed state and opening a corridor of misery into the heart of Western Europe.

For China, Russia and many Global South states, these episodes proved that the “rules-based order” was never about universal law but about Western discretion. The insistence in Tianjin that the UN Charter be restored as the only legitimate framework is meant to flip the script: to argue that the SCO, BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa and new members Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, plus Indonesia), and their partners are defending the actual rules of international law, while the West substitutes ad hoc coalitions and shifting standards for its own convenience.

Both Xi and Putin drove the point home, but in different registers.

Xi’s line: He denounced “hegemonism and bullying behavior” and called for a “democratization of global governance,” stressing that the SCO should serve as a model of true multilateralism anchored in the UN and the World Trade Organization (WTO), not in ad hoc “rules” devised by a few Western capitals.

Putin’s line: He went further, charging that the United States and its allies were directly responsible for the conflict escalation in Ukraine, and arguing that the SCO offers a framework for a genuine Eurasian security order – one not dictated by NATO or Western-imposed standards.

The architecture replacing unipolarity (it’s already here)

 

Security spine: The Shanghai Cooperation Organization brings together Russia, China, India and Central Asian states to coordinate security, counterterrorism and intelligence – the hard-power framework that makes the rest possible.
Economic boardrooms: BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) expanded in 2024 to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates, followed by Indonesia in 2025.

With its New Development Bank and a drive for trade in national currencies, it now acts as a counterweight to the Group of Seven (G7).

Regional weight: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) – a ten-member bloc shaping Asian trade and standards – increasingly aligns with SCO and BRICS projects.

Energy leverage: The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), six Arab monarchies, coordinate policy through the wider Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Plus (OPEC+), giving them control over key oil flows.

Taken together, these bodies already function as a parallel governance system that doesn’t need Western sponsorship or veto power.

EU’s irrelevance

 

The European Union (EU) is absent from Tianjin – and that absence speaks volumes. Once promoted as the second global pole, Europe is now tied to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) for defense, dependent on outside energy, and fractured internally. Even its flagship Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) has soured relations with India and other Global South economies. In Tianjin, Europe was not a participant in decisions – only a spectator.

After the talks, the tanks

 

The SCO summit precedes China’s Victory Day military parade in Beijing on September 3, commemorating 80 years since Japan’s surrender in World War II. Xi, Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, with whom Moscow has a bilateral security pact, will stand together as Beijing showcases intercontinental missiles, long-range strike systems and drone formations.

The spectacle will likely demonstrate that multipolarity is not just a form of diplomatic language, but that it backed by the hard power on display.

Why Tianjin matters beyond Tianjin

 

A rival rule-set with institutions: From a Shanghai Cooperation Organization bank to BRICS financing and potential ASEAN–GCC coordination, there is now a procedural path to act without Western oversight.

UN-first framing: By anchoring legitimacy in the UN Charter, the bloc positions Western “rules-based”frameworks as partisan.

India’s calculus: Modi’s public handshakes with Xi and Putin have normalized a Eurasian triangle that Washington and Brussels cannot easily fracture.

Europe’s shrinking veto: EU regulations such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism no longer set the agenda in Eurasia, where energy, trade and security are coordinated elsewhere.

The bottom line

 

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Tianjin was less about formal speeches than about symbolism. It signalled that the unipolar world has ended. From development banks to energy corridors to parades of missiles, a new multipolar order is taking shape – and it no longer asks for Western permission.

 

https://www.rt.com/news/623872-old-world-order-buried/

 

READ FROM TOP.

 

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

 

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.