How the SCO opens up opportunities for regional development as it turns 25

Deep in Uzbekistan's Jizzakh Region, a vast solar farm is transforming the landscape of the Gobi Desert. Tens of thousands of photovoltaic panels stretch across the barren land, capturing sunlight to generate clean energy.

In March, Phase I of the power plant project, built and operated by a Chinese company, began commercial operations. Once fully completed, the project is expected to generate 1.1 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity annually, enough to meet the needs of around 400,000 residents.

The solar plant is one of the latest examples of China-SCO cooperation translating into tangible development outcomes. Over the past 25 years, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has expanded from a regional security mechanism into a broad platform for cooperation, with development becoming an increasingly important focus.

Prioritizing development to boost shared prosperity

On Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the 26th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO Member States, which coincided with the 25th anniversary of the organization's founding.

During his speech, Xi put forward four proposals for advancing the SCO's future development. One key proposal he emphasized was to prioritize development and work toward shared prosperity among SCO member states.

He also highlighted the Shanghai Spirit, featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations and pursuit of common development, saying the Shanghai Spirit is the organization's most valuable spiritual asset.

Over the past 25 years, guided by the Shanghai Spirit, the SCO has seen growing trade, deeper investment ties and stronger regional connectivity, creating new opportunities for economic development across the region.

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, for instance, shows how infrastructure cooperation is driving regional development. In December 2024, its construction officially began. Once completed, the route will become a major transport corridor linking China with Central Asia and the wider Eurasian continent, greatly improving trade efficiency and creating broader economic opportunities.

Various cooperation platforms are also facilitating closer economic exchanges among SCO states. Last month, a local economic and trade cooperation conference was held in Bishkek, bringing together more than 100 companies. The event resulted in 193 cooperation agreements and trade deals worth around 1.74 billion yuan ($259 million). Meanwhile, the China-SCO Digital Economy Cooperation Platform, launched in Tianjin one year ago, has already facilitated 29 cross-border cooperation projects covering areas such as computing infrastructure, digital trade and commercial aerospace.

Over the past 25 years, the SCO has evolved into a major regional cooperation platform. Its economic cooperation is shifting from individual projects to stronger institutional frameworks and from bilateral efforts to multilateral coordination, paving the way for more integrated, high-quality and sustainable development across the region.

China: A strong promoter of SCO cooperation

At Tuesday's summit, Xi said China views the SCO as a priority area for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and for implementing the Global Development Initiative.

He announced that China would continue hosting events such as the SCO Digital Economy Forum and the SCO Agricultural Expo and will develop an international AI application cooperation center with SCO countries, implement 100 technological cooperation projects with other SCO countries in the next three years and nurture more green industry talents through China-SCO cooperation.

As a founding member of the SCO, China has been a key driver of practical cooperation within the organization.

Shortly after the SCO was founded, China proposed advancing trade and investment facilitation among member states. In 2003, the SCO adopted a multilateral economic cooperation program featuring a three-stage roadmap: promoting trade and investment facilitation in the short term, building stable and transparent rules in the medium term and gradually enabling freer flows of goods, capital, services and technology in the long term.

China has also provided financial support for regional cooperation projects. As of July 2025, China's accumulated investment in other SCO member states had exceeded $84 billion, making it the largest source of investment and financing for Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan.

At last year's Tianjin Summit, China proposed establishing cooperation platforms in energy, green industries and the digital economy, along with centers for scientific innovation, higher education and vocational education. All six initiatives have since been launched, generating more than 160 cooperation projects covering clean energy, digital applications and joint talent development.

Egor Prokhin, a researcher at Russia's Higher School of Economics, said China has played a central role in the SCO's development.

"The Belt and Road Initiative has helped improve transportation and trade connectivity among Eurasian countries, while the Global Development Initiative has contributed to economic growth and improved livelihoods," he said, adding these initiatives closely align with the development priorities of SCO members, creating opportunities for businesses and bringing tangible benefits to people across the region.