TheShanghai Cooperation Organisation Interbank Consortium (abbreviated asSCO IBC) is a platform for joint financing of development projects by members and other participants of theShanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
The SCO Interbank Consortium was created in October 2005 during the2005 SCO Summit. The consortium was among several economic integration projects announced during the summit.[1] The first meeting of the SCO Interbank Association was held inBeijing on 21–22 February 2006.[1]
At the2025 SCO Tianjin summit,Xi Jinping announced that an additional¥10 billion would be provided in loans to the SCO IBC between 2026 and 2029.[2]
China has sought to use the platform to push for more cooperation under itsBelt and Road Initiative.China Development Bank, one of the two mainpolicy banks supporting the Belt and Road Initiative, had by the end of 2017 loaned $7.69 billion and 3.34 billion yuan to member banks of the SCO Interbank Consortium. The outstanding loans at the time stood at $2.05 billion and 3.3 billion yuan.[3] At the2018 SCO summit in Qingdao, China'sparamount leaderXi Jinping pledged to set up a 30 billion yuan ($4.69 billion) for a special lending facility within the framework of the SCO Interbank Consortium. The capital would be put to use for cross-border transportation projects and industrial parks.[citation needed]
TheSCO Development Bank is a proposed multilateral financial institution. Since 2010, China has sought to expand financial cooperation under the auspices of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation by setting up the bank. Russia however has shown skepticism to the bank and in general has prioritized security cooperation within the SCO rather than economic projects. Russia has alternatively suggested to China to buy a stake in the Russian ledEurasian Development Bank. TheAsian Infrastructure Investment Bank was established in 2015 and has substituted the proposed role of theSCO Development Bank to fund infrastructure projects in the region.[4]
Despite the delays, there still remains support among member states for creating the bank. Pakistani Prime Minister Khan at the2019 SCO Summit called for thebank and an SCO development fund to be expeditiously created.[5]
During the2025 SCO Tianjin summit, held between 1 August and 1 September,General Secretary of the Chinese Communist PartyXi Jinping announcedChina's plans to accelerate the development of theSCO Development Bank.[6][7][8][9][10] TheUnited States'sanction andtariff efforts are believed to have kindledChina's acceleration of thebank.[7][10] It was described to be a means of establishing a new global order aimed towards economic and security-related issues, particularly indeveloping nations, or the "Global South" according to Xi.[7]Reuters argued this development to be a "direct challenge to the United States," reinforced through China's announcement of its Global Governance Initiative (GGI), aimed to circumvent US and Euro-centric global order.[7][8]
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