On July 24, the Think Tank Forum of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Media and Think Tank Summit took place in Zhengzhou, central China’s Henan Province. Against the backdrop of accelerating global transformation and profound shifts in the international governance system, the forum brought together scholars from over a dozen Eurasian countries for in-depth discussions under the theme “Building a Better Common Home for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.”

Attendees systematically elaborated on the contemporary value of the Shanghai Spirit featuring mutual trust, mutual benefits, equality, consultation, respect for the diversity of civilizations, and the pursuit of common development. They noted that by upholding the Shanghai Spirit, the SCO is emerging as a pivotal force in reshaping the development order across Eurasia and advancing the vision of a human community with a shared future.

As the SCO Tianjin summit (from Aug. 31 to Sept. 1) approaches, the global significance of the Shanghai Spirit has once again come into focus. Sun Zhuangzhi, director of the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), stated that the construction of an SCO community with a shared future is guided by the Shanghai Spirit, fostering a new model of regional cooperation that promotes trade facilitation and liberalization while forging closer ties without requiring sovereignty concessions.

The SCO’s achievements in fostering coexistence among diverse civilizations underscore the inclusivity of its values. Viktor Koksharov, president of Ural Federal University in Russia, emphasized that the SCO is committed to advancing economic prosperity, cultural trust, and sustainable development throughout Eurasia, rooted in shared values of respect for cultural diversity, harmony, and cooperation. Amid global instability and rising unilateralism, emerging regional frameworks such as the SCO are serving as key pillars of a multipolar world, helping to safeguard the autonomy of national development paths.

Since its establishment in June 2001, the SCO has expanded to include 10 member states, along with two observer states and 14 dialogue partners—testament to the strong appeal of the Shanghai Spirit. Zhao Huirong, director of the Department of the Ukraine Studies at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies under CASS, noted that the SCO’s sustainable development model is characterized by several distinguishing features: a consensus-based approach that avoids alliances and supranational authority, which appeals to emerging economies; a pragmatic, project-driven model of cooperation; and a coordinated, multi-sectoral green development strategy, fostering a “Central Asia priority, Eurasian synergy” orientation.

As 2025 marks the “SCO Year of Sustainable Development,” the world is entering an era of deeper civilizational interaction and evolving shared values. In this context, the SCO’s role transformation is particularly crucial. Kanabek Aziz, director of the Institute of Geopolitics and Strategic Studies of Kyrgyzstan, called for an “SCO 3.0” upgrade—one that would see the organizational shift from a coordinator of interests to an architect of Eurasian intellectual frameworks. He proposed elevating media outlets and think tanks into key sources of knowledge production and establishing an independent narrative system to transition from reactive responses to discourse leadership, thereby providing a sustainable development model for a multipolar world.

The forum was hosted by CASS and organized by the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies and the Center for Shanghai Cooperation Organization Studies at CASS in collaboration with the Henan Academy of Social Sciences. During the event, the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies released a think tank report titled “Research on the Building of an SCO Community with a Shared Future.”