BEIJING, Sept. 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global governance has once again entered the "SCO moment". On the occasion of the 2026 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, a public-opinion survey conducted by CGTN in collaboration with Renmin University of China through the Institute for International Communication in the New Era, among 13,707 respondents across 48 countries worldwide shows that 74.6% of respondents believe the SCO offers a pragmatic path for cooperation among countries with different systems and serves as an important force for advancing a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of the SCO. Over the past 25 years, trade volume between China and other SCO member states has risen from USD 12.1 billion in 2001 to USD 523.5 billion in 2025. Projects including the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway, the SCO Development Bank and the China-Central Asia Gas Pipeline keep moving forward. The survey indicates global respondents hold positive views on the SCO's pragmatic cooperation outcomes across various sectors over its 25-year history. They note that the organization's international influence has grown markedly in three priority areas: trade facilitation, investment and financing cooperation, as well as cultural exchanges and tourism. Among respondents from SCO member states and dialogue partners, 75.4% state that the "Shanghai Spirit" provides a cooperation framework rooted in mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diverse civilizations and pursuit of common development. Meanwhile, 71.7% of respondents believe the SCO has amplified the voice of Global South countries and advanced the building of a fairer and more reasonable global governance system.
As a founding member of the SCO, China has consistently linked its own development to that of the SCO, and to the aspiration of peoples of all member states for a better life. To date, China's investment in other member states has kept expanding. In 2025, China's direct investment across all industries stood at USD 3.3 billion, covering oil and gas, mineral resources, infrastructure, new energy, automobiles, chemicals and other sectors. China has also invested in building more than 30 economic and trade cooperation zones, helping recipient countries boost industrial capacity and driving local economic growth and employment. Survey respondents spoke highly of China's philosophy and contributions to building an SCO community with a shared future, and widely recognized China's most remarkable contributions in three dimensions: advancing regional economic cooperation, promoting security cooperation among member states, and providing development assistance and financial support. In addition, 76.2% of respondents hold that China's Belt and Road Initiative has fostered a new landscape of interconnected and integrated global development; 73.5% note that the Global Governance Initiative points the way for Global South countries to participate in reform of the global governance system.
Today, the SCO has grown into a comprehensive regional cooperation organization boasting the world's largest territorial coverage, biggest population and enormous development potential. As a key force driving transformation of the global governance system, the SCO is playing an increasingly vital role in practicing true multilateralism, advocating equal- and-orderly world multipolarization and inclusive-for-all economic globalization, and has drawn wide international attention. According to the survey, 89.6% of respondents call on all countries to participate in global affairs on an equal footing and jointly shape international rules and order. They expect the SCO to exert greater influence in three major fields: infrastructure and energy, regional security cooperation, and environment and climate change.
Covering major developed countries and Global South nations, this survey targeted ordinary people aged 18 and above, with samples aligned with national census-based age-and-gender distributions in respective countries.
Contact: Jiang Simin jiang.simin@cgtn.com
