The university adapts to the needs of the country and society for  development by actively responding to national strategies. On September 13th, 2013, President Xi Jinping announced at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization(SCO) Bishkek Summit that China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation (CNISCO) would be established at SHUPL to foster judicial talents for other SCO member states. In 2014, 2015, and 2018, President Xi stressed thrice at the SCO summits in Duschanbe, Ufa, and Qingdao that the Institute should serve to help member states train their judicial talents. In 2017, CNISCO has been listed by Shanghai Municipal Government in the Action Plan of Shanghai for Playing a Bridgehead Role under the“Belt and Road” Initiative.

The university brings into full play the three functions of CNISCO, namely training, think tank, and forums. Entrusted by central government departments including the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Commerce, the Institute has completed a number of training missions. CNISCO has successively been approved as The Belt and Road Judicial Research Base of the Fourth Civil Division of the Supreme People's Court, the SCO Prosecutor Training Base of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Cooperation and Exchange Base of the SCO Legal Service Commission of the Ministry of Justice, the Mediation Theory Research and Talent Training Base of the Ministry of Justice, the Regional and National Research Center approved by the Ministry of Education, the Research and Practice Center for the Implementation of Educational Laws and Regulations in the All Media Era of the Ministry of Education, the Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences among Universities in Shanghai, “The Belt and Road“Security Cooperation and China Overseas Interest Protection Collaborative Innovation Center, the Shanghai Educational Legislative Consultation and Service Research Base, and the Shanghai Research Center for the Filing and Review of Normative Documents. SHUPL is the Director Unit of the Belt and Road Think Tank Cooperation Alliance. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Research Institute and the Belt and Road Security Research Institute are CTTI (China Think Tank Index) source think tanks.