The Chinese communist regime is issuing a blatant challenge to the United States and the West through the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, experts warn, while leveraging security ties with member states to push them further toward authoritarianism.
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization, a Eurasian bloc led by China and Russia, was established in 2001 and has expanded beyond what analysts view as its original goal of countering U.S. influence in Central Asia. It has 10 member states, including Egypt, Iran, and Kyrgyzstan, along with 17 dialogue partners and observers.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek on Aug. 30—his second overseas trip this year—to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit 2026, according to China’s state-run Global Times.
The summit runs from Aug. 30 through Sept. 3, with the agenda focused on deepening bloc cooperation, reforming global governance, and addressing major international issues, China’s foreign ministry said on Aug. 26.
“By pushing for global governance reform at the summit, the Chinese regime is issuing a blatant challenge to the United States and the West,” Frank Tian Xie, the John M. Olin Palmetto chair professor in business and marketing at the University of South Carolina–Aiken, told The Epoch Times.
“There’s no doubt that upending the global status quo is a core objective for Beijing.”
“The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is steadily building a security network centered on itself, combining joint drills, arms exports and military training with the grouping,” Shen told The Epoch Times.
Beijing and Cairo launched the “Eagles of Civilization 2026” joint training in Egypt, running from mid-August into early September and covering air combat tactics and air superiority operations.
“Such joint drills and security pacts likely involve sharing ’stability maintenance' tactics and cyber surveillance technologies,” he said.
“Beijing’s security ties essentially help stifle democracy and human rights in those regions, driving them further toward autocracy.”
On July 23, Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states sent delegations to Urumqi, Xinjiang, for the “Tianshan-2026” joint cyber anti-terrorism exercise, according to China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency.
Consensus Remains Elusive
“China has been indirectly supporting Iran and Russia and is leveraging this summit to advance its broader ambitions,” he said.
However, Shen said backing the two regimes has instead become a diplomatic burden for Beijing, adding that its underlying rifts with participating states make consensus difficult to achieve.
“Members from Central Asian nations must weigh the stances of the U.S. and Europe, so they essentially play a balancing act between major powers,” Shen said.
“As a result, China will struggle to turn the organization into a primary anti-U.S. platform, as these hurdles cannot be resolved overnight.”
‘Diplomatic Symbolism’
“For member states with fragile economies, such as Kyrgyzstan, the BRI poses severe debt risks,” Shen said.
“Moreover, if these projects lack transparency, partner nations could lose control of their infrastructure to Beijing.”
While some cash-strapped members might risk debt traps to secure a quick economic boost from the Chinese regime, the long-term payoff could prove negligible, according to Shen.
“With capital continually tightening in the Chinese market, Beijing has drastically reduced lending for large-scale overseas infrastructure,” he said.
“As a result, these scaled-down projects carry mere diplomatic symbolism.”
Broader Confrontation
Shen said that as Beijing continues to pull nations into its orbit, the risk of geopolitical conflict could escalate.
“The regime could use the summit partnerships to bolster its military presence around vital waterways like the Suez Canal,” he said.
“If conflicts erupt in the Taiwan Strait or the South China Sea, Beijing will possess greater strategic leverage to counter the West, which explains its recent assertiveness.”
Xie said Beijing is expanding cooperation with Tehran and Moscow across the bloc and other platforms to counter the West and steadily achieve its strategic goals.
“Such an alignment illustrates the broader confrontation unfolding globally,” Xie said.
“It represents a direct challenge posed by communist authoritarian regimes against Western civilization, freedom, and democracy.”
