Evolution is defined as a process in which something changes into a different and usually more complex or better form. Driven by natural selection, those organisms that are different from the norm and are able to survive an environmental change become the new normal.

The evolution of the international order follows a similar trajectory with "environmental changes" producing a new normal. Such is the process underway today with the rise of developing countries.

Environmental changes are by their nature volatile and the one currently underway in the postwar system is no exception. In the increasingly turbulent world, fraught with uncertainties, frictions and confrontations, the global governance and trust deficits have become ever more prominent. And these deficits have become even more acute with the United States remapping its divisive Cold War strategies on the world in an attempt to put the brakes on the coalescing of a multipolar world in place of its hegemony.

It was in light of this, while addressing the India-hosted 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO via video link on Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the member states to focus on pragmatic cooperation to speed up economic recovery and to formulate foreign policies independently. He also urged the SCO countries to strengthen exchanges and mutual learning, and foster closer people-to-people ties.

Formed to promote economic cooperation and facilitate coordination on security matters in Central Asia, the SCO's successes in these endeavors over the years have seen it thrive and evolve into a beacon for development and stability on the Eurasian continent.

Its success has propelled its continuing enlargement. The growing number of members, Iran being the latest, and an expanding "family" of observer states and dialogue partners are testimony to the attractiveness of the Shanghai Spirit that the SCO upholds, which emphasizes mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diverse civilizations and pursuit of common development.

With the SCO assuming ever greater importance as an anchor of stability in these troubled times, Xi's call for it to consolidate its role as a bastion of unity and collaboration, inclusivity and shared benefits is recognition that the world needs signs of certainty and stability, and demonstrations of trust more than ever as it undergoes the difficult transformation into a community with a shared future.

Iran joining the organization as a full member is a meaningful development in this regard, as it is an indication of the SCO's growing interaction with the Middle East, which is looking to move away from the Washington-induced convulsions in pursuit of peace and development. It is also a sign of the SCO's growing significance.