Jacob Davis
CSMS Magazine
Multipolarity as Practice, Not Rhetoric
For years, multipolarity has been invoked as a slogan by countries skeptical of U.S. hegemony. What distinguishes this summit in Tianjin and the follow-up in Beijing is the institutional scaffolding being built around the idea. Credit facilities, pipeline deals, banking consortia, and security frameworks are not abstract. They create path dependencies that will lock states into cooperation regardless of rhetoric shifts. In this sense, the summit was less about big speeches and more about laying bricks for an alternative order.
China’s Role as Convener
Xi Jinping’s ability to bring together not only Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi, but also actors like Kim Jong Un, underscores a critical strategic asset: convening power. Where Washington seeks to isolate certain regimes, Beijing demonstrates it can place them on the same stage as rising middle powers. This visibility signals that China’s diplomacy is not only bilateral but architectural—it is constructing platforms where others must participate to avoid marginalization.
Energy as Geopolitical Currency
The deepening of the Power of Siberia 2 gas corridor negotiations illustrates how infrastructure binds strategy. Russia’s exclusion from European markets forces it to accept China’s terms, while China secures long-term supplies and bargaining leverage. More broadly, energy corridors through Central Asia and Mongolia reshape maps of dependency. Every cubic meter of gas shipped eastward is also a shift in geopolitical alignment.
India’s Strategic Hedging
Perhaps the most nuanced piece of the puzzle was Modi’s attendance. India faces pressure from Washington on trade, technology, and its Russian ties. Yet the summit allowed New Delhi to rebalance relations with Beijing after years of border tension. India’s performance was textbook hedging: warming atmospherics without concessions, reinforcing its role as a swing power in the emerging system. The fact that Xi and Modi were seen engaging warmly after years of frosty relations may be as important as any signed communiqués.
Western Perceptions and Responses
From a Western perspective, the summit is troubling because it shows that sanctions and isolation strategies have limits. Leaders that Washington seeks to cordon off are not only finding platforms but being embraced within them. At the same time, the SCO is not a monolith: members disagree on border issues, trade balances, and how far to challenge the West. The danger for Washington and Brussels lies not in a formal anti-Western bloc but in the gradual normalization of multipolar coordination, where decisions are increasingly taken without reference to Western priorities.
Risks and Open Questions
Execution risk: Will the SCO’s financial instruments actually deliver liquidity, or remain symbolic?
Asymmetry risk: Can smaller members maintain autonomy in a system dominated by Beijing and Moscow?
Conflict spillover: How long can India maintain equilibrium with China while simultaneously deepening ties with the U.S. and Quad?
Western recalibration: Will Washington respond by doubling down on pressure, or by reconsidering its own convening power in Asia and Africa?
The Broader Arc
What we are witnessing is the slow sedimentation of a parallel order—not replacing the U.S.-led system, but operating alongside it. Much like the early Cold War institutions, the SCO and related frameworks are evolving from diplomatic clubs into operational networks. If the 20th century was defined by the institutions Washington built (UN, NATO, Bretton Woods), the 21st may see regional, issue-based, and non-Western institutions gaining similar gravity.
Concluding Thought
The summit in Tianjin and Beijing should not be read as a turning point but as a marker of continuity. The global order is shifting not in dramatic ruptures but in incremental layers of cooperation that make alternatives to the U.S.-led system more feasible. For policymakers, analysts, and global citizens alike, the task is to recognize that the world is no longer waiting for a formal declaration of multipolarity—it is already rehearsing it.
Note: Jacob Davis is editor at CSMS Magazine.
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