France, Sept. 12 -- Once a modest Central Asian security forum, theShanghai Cooperation Organisation now pits Beijing's ambitions against Western dominance, with its August summitcasting President Xi Jinping as a champion of a new multipolar order. Butinternal rifts raise doubts that it can rival NATO.
From a small-scale security-building mechanism to a heavyweight bloc showcasing China's geopolitical ambitions, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has evolved dramatically since its inception in 1996.
Originally known as the Shanghai Five, the group was initially formed of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and aimed to resolve border disputes and bolster security cooperation.
"It was really concerned with China...