19.09.2026 Trade & Markets #EAEU #China #Import #Export #Statistics #Trade agreements

EAEU-SCO trade turnover jumps 17% to $197 billion in H1 2026

At a round table titled "EAEU-SCO: Boosting Economic Cooperation," held on September 17, 2026 at the SCO Secretariat in Beijing as part of "EAEU Days," EEC Chairman Bakytzhan Sagintaev cited the latest trade results: trade between Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) member states reached $197 billion in the first half of 2026, up more than 17% year-on-year, with the SCO's share of the EAEU's foreign trade climbing to nearly 48% (EEC).

Growth builds on a multi-year trend

Full-year 2025 trade between EAEU and SCO states totaled $371 billion — nearly four times higher than a decade earlier (EEC). Converted to rubles, that is roughly 31.4 trillion rubles, according to Ritm Eurasia (Ritm Eurasia). The more-than-17% increase in H1 2026 shows momentum has not slowed since that record year.

Four priorities named by Sagintaev

The EEC chairman outlined four areas for deepening EAEU-SCO ties (EEC):

The two sides: the EAEU five and the SCO Secretariat in Beijing

The EAEU comprises five member states — Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia (EEC); the round table itself took place at the SCO Secretariat, headquartered in Beijing. Sagintaev said "EAEU Days" demonstrate the "Eurasian five's" readiness for open dialogue and the expansion of free-trade zones (EEC).

Five years after the memorandum, a new plan through 2030

On the same day, September 17, Sagintaev and SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev signed a plan of joint activities for 2027–2030 to implement the memorandum of understanding between the EEC and the SCO Secretariat, originally signed on September 17, 2021 in Dushanbe. The plan covers joint projects in agriculture and food security, cooperation on customs regulation, information exchange on the green economy, digitalization and information and communication technologies, and projects involving the two blocs' business councils (Alta-Soft). The "EAEU Days" program in Beijing included an opening ceremony, the round table, a photo exhibition and the signing ceremony, and drew representatives from 30 countries (SCO).

Primary sources

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