SCO will remain pragmatic

Prime ministers of member countries of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) met in St. Petersburg, Russia, on Monday amid the unfolding European Union drama. With economic growth in the EU possibly stymied for a decade, and a Japan-style stagnation threatening the United States, emerging economies have started focusing more on their own markets.

Some observers consider the SCO a useful platform to boost economic cooperation and even for integration among its members: China, Russia and the four Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

The situation, however, is more complicated than it looks. The SCO, founded 10 years ago, focuses on two aspects: economic cooperation and security. China usually emphasizes economic cooperation and Russia lays stress on security, which strike a sort of balance within the organization, allowing each of its informal co-leaders to pursue their national agenda.