SCO Adopts Tianjin Declaration Condemning Terrorism and US-Israel Strikes

Member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) adopted the Tianjin Declaration and a development strategy through 2035 during the 25th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State in Tianjin, China. The bloc agreed to establish an SCO development bank to reduce reliance on the U.S. dollar, with Xi Jinping pledging 2 billion yuan in grants and 10 billion yuan in loans to member states. The summit also established a new partner status, which Laos joined, and outlined a roadmap for joint artificial intelligence cooperation.

A central focus of the summit was counter-terrorism. The SCO formally condemned the April 22, 2025, attack in Pahalgam, India, which killed 26 civilians, as well as attacks on the Jaffer Express and in Khuzdar, Pakistan. This consensus followed a diplomatic thaw between India and China, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi made his first visit to China in seven years. The declaration rejected double standards in counter-terrorism and demanded that perpetrators and sponsors be brought to justice.

In a significant diplomatic shift, the SCO also condemned June 2025 military strikes by the United States and Israel against Iranian nuclear infrastructure, describing them as violations of international law. The member states expressed deep concern over the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and called for an immediate ceasefire. Bilaterally, Modi and Xi discussed border disengagement, while Modi reaffirmed a privileged partnership with Russian President Vladimir Putin.