Sergey Radchenko
Splendidly dressed dancers moved about the stage swiftly in a colorful performance as nearly 30 world leaders looked gravely on. Gathered in Tianjin for the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), these assembled dignitaries were also taking part in Beijing’s carefully choreographed pageantry. Their presence was meant to proclaim China’s glory as the center of the non-Western world.
The SCO, founded in 2001, was formerly written off as the dictators’ club. While its summits have always attracted some interest on the part of China and Russia watchers, particularly those with interest in Central Asia, they have never received as much international media attention as the recent summit in Tianjin.
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