At an August 27, 2026 press conference, China’s Ministry of Commerce said this year marks the 25th anniversary of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Trade between China and other SCO members rose from $12.1 billion in 2001 to $523.5 billion in 2025, now accounting for 8% of China’s total foreign trade, with fast growth in “new three” products and cross-border e-commerce exports to members.
The spokesperson noted that over 25 years China has upheld the “Shanghai Spirit,” developed hand in hand with other SCO members and shared dividends, yielding fruitful regional economic cooperation. China’s direct investment in other members keeps expanding — $3.3 billion across all industries in 2025, spanning oil and gas, minerals, infrastructure, new energy, automobiles and chemicals — and it has built 30-plus economic and trade cooperation zones.
China will keep implementing its action plan for high-quality economic and trade cooperation with SCO members, observer and dialogue partners, promote trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation, develop service and digital trade, and deepen supply-chain cooperation to lift regional economic cooperation to a new level.
For foreign sellers in cross-border trade, the SCO region is becoming one of the fastest-growing segments of China’s foreign trade (8% and rising); “new three” goods, cross-border e-commerce, service trade and digital trade are all entry points. Understanding this framework helps capture the linkage between China and its neighbouring markets.
Source: State Council of the PRC (Chinese Government) (gov.cn), original link: https://www.gov.cn/yaowen/liebiao/202608/content_7079331.htm. Compiled by Hongshengze.