ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses factors external to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), including the foreign policy orientations of the SCO member states, international responses to the SCO and interactions between SCO members, particularly China and interested non-member states. It addresses the SCO's relations with not only the observer and dialogue states, including Afghanistan, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan, but also countries with strong stakes and interests, particularly, the United States. The SCO primarily allows its members to engage in multilateral cooperation. International responses to developments in Central Asia and the SCO have been mixed, with different perceptions, views, positions and policies from a variety of international actors. The politics of enlargement were reflected in the process of upgrading the 'Shanghai Five' to the SCO. The SCO conducts its external relations with three types of actors: the United States and other Western countries, a group of neighbouring countries and some intergovernmental organisations.
