The 25th forum of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), held in Tianjin on August 31 and September 1, did not choose its venue by chance. This northern Chinese city is a reminder of the era of foreign concessions that resulted from the Opium Wars.
In addition to the heads of state from the SCO permanent member countries (Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Russia, and Tajikistan), about 15 partner countries, including Egypt, Malaysia, and Turkey, were also present, as well as the Secretary General of the United Nations (UN) António Guterres. The event concluded with a striking military parade celebrating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, following Japan's surrender.
What took place in China went far beyond a glimpse of a new international order. It set the very framework we must now prepare for. Two major questions have emerged. Despite its contradictions and vulnerabilities, including demographic challenges, what will China do with the power it has accumulated? And what might a world marked by declining American hegemony look like? Depending on one's region, one or the other of these questions seems more pressing. For Europe, the exercise remains perhaps the most complex, as its overall strategic outlook remains uncertain.
The US pulls back
In September 1945, American power embodied modernity and strength. Gandhi was fighting for India's independence, while China was sinking into a civil war that would, four years later, see the birth of the People's Republic. By 2025, the contours of the post-American world order are being drawn in Beijing, in partnership with India.
This shift stems from the United States' retreat and its trade war diplomacy, which has weakened the hegemony it has held since 1945, the ultimate paradox of a trajectory led under the banner of Make America Great Again. In contrast, the Tianjin declaration and the Beijing parade illustrated the triumph of the Chinese Communist Party, founded 104 years ago and now boasting over 100 million members. Xi presented a synthesis of Marxism and Chinese traditions, citing Laozi [founding father of Taoism] and rallying support in the Global South by emphasizing the end of the "century of humiliation."
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