China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): The Role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Geopolitical Security and Economic Cooperation — Oak Academic Publishing
Research ArticleOpen AccessGoogle Scholar indexed
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI): The Role of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Geopolitical Security and Economic Cooperation
School of Politics and Public Management, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, China
1 School of Politics and Public Management, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, China
This article delves into the complex interaction between China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), exploring their roles in global geopolitics, security collaboration, and economic coope ration. The BRI, often referred to as the New Silk Road, represe nts a remarkable effort to connect nations and reshape the global economic landscape, promoting connectivity and collaboration. Within this narrative, the SCO emerges as a pivotal participant, evolving from its origins in Cen tral Asian security to encompass a broad spectrum of social, economic, and security concerns. With India, Pakistan, and Iran joining as full members, the SCO now represents almost half of the world’s population and a significant GDP share, promising transformative impacts on trade, security, and regional development. On security matters, the SCO has demonstrated its commitment to combating terrorism, extremism, and separatism through joint military exercises and intelligence sharing. The establishment of the Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) has been instrumental in addressing security challenges and fostering regional stability. Economically, the SCO has shifted its focus to promote an integrated economic space, facilitating the free flow of goods, technology, services, and capital among member states. Under President Xi Jinping’s leadership, China’s Belt and Road Initiative aims to revive ancient trade routes and foster shared destinies among nations, connecting over four billion people and a substantial GDP share. Beyond economic development, the BRI also seeks to enhance domestic and regional security, reducing reliance on maritime routes for energy supply. This article concludes that the collaborative efforts of the BRI and SCO hold the promise of a more interconnected and prosperous world in which diversity and cooperation over - come adversity.
KeywordsBelt and Road Initiative (BRI)Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)Three EvilsEconomySecurityCentral Asia
Alimov, R. (2018). The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation: Its Role and Place in the Development of Eurasia. Journal of Eurasian Studies, 9, 114-124. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.euras.2018.08.001
Ambrosio, T. (2008). Catching the “Shanghai spirit”: How the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Promotes Authoritarian Norms in Central Asia. Europe-Asia Studies, 60, 1321-1344. https://doi.org/10.1080/09668130802292143
Aminjonov, F., Abylkasymova, A. et al. (2019). BRI in Central Asia: Rail and Road Connectivity Projects. Central Asia Regional Data Review, 21, 1-18. https://www.osce-academy.net/upload/file/CADGAT_21_BRI_Road_and_Rail.pdf
Anushka. (2020, November 15). SCO Peace Mission 2018: SCO Counter-Terror Military Exercise Held in Chebarkul, Russia. GKToday. https://www.gktoday.in/sco-peace-mission-2018-sco-counter-terror-military-exercise-held-chebarkul-russia/
Aris, S. (2009). Tackling the Three Evils. A Regional Response to Non-Traditional Security Challenges or an Anti-Western Bloc? Europe-Asia Studies, 61, 457-482. https://doi.org/10.1080/09668130902753309
Bin, Y. (2015). Tales of Two Parades, Two Drills, and Two Summits. Comparative Connections, 17, 147-162. https://cc.pacforum.org/2015/09/tales-two-parades-two-drills-two-summits/
Blasko, D. J. (2010). People’s Liberation Army and People’s Armed Police Ground Exercises with Foreign Forces, 2002-2009. In The PLA at Home and Abroad: Assessing the Operational Capabilities of China’s Military (pp. 377-428). Strategic Studies Institute, US Army War College. https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/resrep11945.11.pdf
Bolonina, A. (2019). Security Dimension of China’s Presence in Central Asia. Thucydide Centre, University Panthéon-Assas. https://www.iris-france.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Asia-Focus-108-Eng.pdf
Carroll, W. E. (2011). China in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Hegemony, Multi-Polar Balance, or Cooperation in Central Asia. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 1, 1-8. http://www.ijhssnet.com/journals/Vol_1_No_19_December_2011/1.pdf
Chubarov, I. (2019). Challenges and Opportunities for the Spatial Development of Eurasia under the BRI: The Case of the Eurasian Economic Union. Area Development and Policy, 4, 81-97. https://doi.org/10.1080/23792949.2018.1527181
Djankov, S., & Miner, S. (Eds.) (2016). China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Motives, Scope, and Challenges. Peterson Institute for International Economics.
Dupont, S. (2007). China’s War on the “Three Evil Forces”. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2007/07/25/chinas-war-on-the-three-evil-forces/
Dwivedi, R. (2006). China’s Central Asia Policy in Recent Times. China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly, 4, 139-159. https://www.academia.edu/1839483/Chinas_Central_Asia_policy_in_recent_times
Erin, Z. ç. (2023). China’s Regional Geoeconomic Dynamics in the SCO Context. Ankara Center for Crisis and Policy Studies. https://www.ankasam.org/chinas-regional-geoeconomic-dynamics-in-the-sco-context/?lang=en
Farwa, U. (2018). Belt and Road Initiative and China’s Strategic Culture. Strategic Studies, 38, 40-56. https://strategicstudies.org.pk/index.php/strategic_studies/article/download/143/79 https://doi.org/10.53532/ss.038.03.00143
Grainger, S. (2014). Challenges and the Future Direction of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. In The 12th Eurasia Business and Economics Society Conference (pp. 1691-1710). Nanyang University. https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stephen-Grainger/publication/324528182
Grävingholt, J. (2004). Crisis Potentials and Crisis Prevention in Central Asia. Entry Points for German Development Cooperation.
Harun, R. (2007). China’s Role in the Regional Stability in Central Asia: Some Preliminary Observations. In The International Conference of “Implications of a Transforming China: Domestic, Regional and Global Impacts”. Institute of China Studies, University of Malaya.
Hawkins, C., & Love, R. R. (Eds.) (2006). The New Great Game: Chinese Views on Central Asia: Central Asia Regional Security Issues, Economic and Political Challenges. Foreign Military Studies Office.
India Today (2021). Indian Army Participates in SCO Joint Military Exercise in Russia. India Today. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/peace-mission-2021-indian-army-sco-joint-military-exercise-russia-1853099-2021-09-15
International Federation for Human Rights (2012). Publication of a Report: “Shanghai Cooperation Organisation: A Vehicle for Human Rights Violations”. https://www.fidh.org/en/region/europe-central-asia/publication-of-a-report-shanghai-cooperation-organisation-a-vehicle
Jia, Q. (2007). The Shanghai Cooperation Organization: China’s Experiment in Multilateral Leadership. In I. Akihiro (Ed.), Eager Eyes Fixed on Eurasia: Russia and Its Eastern Edge (pp. 113-123). Slavie Research Center, Hokkaido University. https://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/coe21/publish/no16_2_ses/05_jia.pdf
Kalra, P., & Saxena, S. S. (2007). Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Prospects of Development in Eurasia Region. Turkish Policy Quarterly, 6, 95-99. https://www.esiweb.org/pdf/esi_turkey_tpq_id_98.pdf
Khan, A. (2018). Pakistan’s Hopes for the SCO Summit. China Daily. https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201806/07/WS5b18c482a31001b82571eb0f.html
Kim, Y., & Indeo, F. (2013). The New Great Game in Central Asia Post-2014: The US “New Silk Road” Strategy and Sino-Russian Rivalry. Communist and Post-Communist Studies, 46, 275-286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.postcomstud.2013.03.005
Koolaee, E., & Tishehyar, M. (2013). An Outlook on Energy Cooperation Approaches in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Region. Geopolitics Quarterly, 8, 41-71. https://journal.iag.ir/article_56050_en.html?lang=en
Laruelle, M. (Ed.) (2018). China’s Belt and Road Initiative and Its Impact in Central Asia. George Washington University, Central Asia Program. https://centralasiaprogram.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/OBOR_Book_.pdf
Li, Y., & Schmerer, H. J. (2017). Trade and the New Silk Road: Opportunities, Challenges, and Solutions. Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, 15, 205-213. https://doi.org/10.1080/14765284.2017.1347473
Liao, X. (2006). Central Asia and China’s Energy Security. China and Eurasia Forum Quarterly, 4, 61-69. https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/31580/Vol%204%20No%204%20Full_Text.pdf
NIDS (2019). NIDS China Security Report 2020: China Goes to Eurasia. National Institute for Defense Studies. https://www.nids.mod.go.jp/publication/chinareport/pdf/china_report_EN_web_2020_A01.pdf
Nurgaliyev, M. (2008). Development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Diplomacy of Japan towards Central Asia. JILA. https://www2.jiia.or.jp/pdf/fellow_report/080317-Marat_Nurgaliyev.pdf
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (n.d.). China’s Belt and Road Initiative in the Global Trade, Investment, and Finance Landscape. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/finance-and-investment/oecd-business-and-finance-outlook- 2018/the-belt-and-road-initiative-in-the-global-trade-investment-and-finance-landscape_bus_fin_out-2018-6-en
Qiang, X., & Cao, J. (2023). China’s Initiatives and the Development of Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Shanghai Institutes for International Studies. https://www.chinausfocus.com/publication/2023/2023-SIIS-China-s-Initiatives.pdf
Rolland, N. (2015). China’s New Silk Road (p. 12). The National Bureau of Asian Research. https://web.archive.org/web/20190301214548id_/http://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9934/98e09eb562c3527183fcfeb3e65afed82f39.pdf
Samay, M. A. (2022). The Dynamics of Eurasian Comprehensive Security, Political and Economic Cooperation. PhD Dissertation, Budapesti Corvinus Egyetem.
Scobell, A., Ratner, E., & Beckley, M. (2014). China’s Strategy toward South and Central Asia: An Empty Fortress. Rand Project Air Force.
Shanghai Cooperation Organization (2023). About SCO. http://eng.sectsco.org/about_sco/
Sun, Z. (2007). The Relationship between China and Central Asia in Eager Eyes Fixed on Eurasia (pp. 41-63). Slavic Research Center, Hokkaido University. https://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/coe21/publish/no16_1_ses/03_zhuangzhi.pdf
Sznajder, A. P. (2006). China’s Shanghai Cooperation Organization Strategy. Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation.
Tekir, G. (2022). Economic and Political Impacts of the Belt and Road Initiative on Kazakhstan. International Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Studies, 4, 60-69. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361107816 https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-00852-8_4
The State Council Information Office of China (2023). The Belt and Road Initiative: A Key Pillar of the Global Community of Shared Future. http://www.scio.gov.cn/zfbps/zfbps_2279/202310/t20231010_773734.html
Torjesen, S. (2008). Russia as a Military Great Power: The Uses of the CSTO and the SCO in Central Asia. In A. P. Tsygankov, & P. Stoett (Eds.), The Multilateral Dimension in Russian Foreign Policy (pp. 195-206). Routledge.
Wallace, T. (2014). China and the Regional Counter-Terrorism Structure: An Organizational Analysis. Asian Security, 10, 199-220. https://doi.org/10.1080/14799855.2014.976614
Wang, Y. W. (2020). China and Europe: BRI and the 17+1 Initiative. Valdai Discussion Club. https://valdaiclub.com/a/highlights/china-and-europe-bri-and-the-17-1-initiative/
Xinhua (2014). The SCO and the Silk Road Economic Belt Provide Opportunities and Complement Each Other. http://www.xinhuanet.com/world/2014-09/11/c_126972937.htm
Xinhua (2017). Recap: Major PLA-Related Joint Anti-Terror Military Exercises and Training. CCTV News. https://www.cctv.com/english/20071221/107164.shtml
Xinhua (2018). SCO a Natural Partner to the Belt and Road Initiative. http://english.scio.gov.cn/beltandroad/2018-06/08/content_51816170.htm#:~:text=SCO%20members%20align%20development%20plans,development%20plans%20with%20initiative
Yao, N. (2022). Chart of the Day: SCO’s Share of Global Trade Rises to 17.5% in 2020. CGTN. https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-09-14/Chart-of-the-Day-SCO-s-share-of-global-trade-rises-to-17-5-in-2020-1djCxMklwje/index.html
Yuan, J. (2023). Forging a New Security Order in Eurasia: China, the SCO, and the Impacts on Regional Governance. Chinese Political Science Review, 8, 422-439. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41111-022-00223-7 https://doi.org/10.1007/s41111-022-00223-7