The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) stands at a pivotal point in its history. On the one hand, the growing ties between Russia and China as well as the withdrawal of the Western powers from Central Asia and Afghanistan could provide it with more cohesive leadership and more opportunities to become Eurasia鈥檚 dominant security institution. On the other hand, the SCO faces competition from the Russian-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the new Eurasian Union as well as the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building in Asia (CICA), a body that has labored in the SCO鈥檚 shadow but has recently attracted the interest of China, historically the SCO鈥檚 main champion.

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An illustration photo shows the DeepSeek logo displayed on a smartphone in Shanghai, China, on March 27, 2025. (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)