China Prepares to Lead Expanded Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Graphic: People's Daily

Chinese President Xi Jinping is heading to Central Asia to attend the leaders’ summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, taking place on 3 and 4 July 2024, in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana. The trip will also include state visits to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

China will take up the rotating leadership of the SCO for the first time in seven years. This comes as the organization seems set to expand again, with Belarus becoming its tenth member. The body originally comprised China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. India and Pakistan joined in 2017, and Iran in 2023.

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by Cobus van Staden

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