But what is it for? This is the question that the media in Russia, China, Iran and half a dozen countries were posing all last week in the wake of a summit in Samarkand that brought their leaders together as members or aspiring members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO).
The Russian media, echoing President Vladimir Putin's speech at the summit, say the SCO is designed to end "the unipolar world "by creating a "multipolar system".
The Chinese media offer a different versio...
