Premier Li Keqiang's proposals and policy push at the ongoing 16th meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Sochi, Russia, will form an important and probably the concluding part of China's major diplomatic efforts this year. High hopes have been pinned on Li's diplomacy in Sochi, especially because this is the first SCO high-level meeting after India and Pakistan joined the organization.

In the 16 years since its establishment, the SCO has grown into an influential organization that endorses and practices new cooperative ideas in line with the changing regional situation. It is therefore crucial that the bloc stays cohesive and vibrant after the inclusion of India and Pakistan in the SCO community.

The expanded SCO is facing some institutional challenges, particularly because India and Pakistan are yet to properly address their disparities and conflicts of interests, and it will take some time for the group to adjust to the changes. In this context, the organization's successes in resolving disputes between member states and the documented promise of the two South Asian neighbors to keep their bilateral conflicts outside the SCO mechanism should be reassuring.