As the United Nations approaches its 80th anniversary, Secretary-General António Guterres has issued a stark warning: the Organization is on the verge of bankruptcy. With unpaid contributions exceeding $760 million and outdated fiscal rules forcing the UN to return funds it never truly received, the system meant to uphold global cooperation is now teetering on financial collapse.

The SCO Summit in Beijing brings together 20 heads of state, including Putin, Modi, Kim, and Iran’s Pezeshkian, with UN Secretary-General António Guterres also present. At a moment when global cooperation is under strain, the summit highlights how Eurasia is shaping an alternative vision of world order—one that unfolds without the United States in the room.