Russia, China: Competing Visions of the SCO

For Russia and China, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) — which is holding its annual summit Aug. 28-29 in Tajikistan — serves different purposes. The SCO focus for Russia is outward, as a security alliance that might someday counter NATO, while China views the SCO as a security guarantor in Central Asia. As the summit concludes in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe, Russia is in no position to push its vision of the SCO on China.