BEIJING: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday called on Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) members to forge ahead with solid steps for a better future as the organization convenes its largest-ever summit in China’s port city of Tianjin.
Addressing the 25th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO, Xi called on the member states to carry forward the Shanghai Spirit in a world fraught with challenges and changes, and better tap into the organization’s potential.
Founded in Shanghai in June 2001, the SCO has expanded from six founding members into a 26-nation family of 10 members, two observers and 14 dialogue partners spanning Asia, Europe and Africa, with cooperation covering more than 50 areas and a combined economic output of nearly 30 trillion U.S. dollars.
“Its international influence and appeal are increasing day by day,” Xi said, hailing “groundbreaking and historic achievements” in SCO development and cooperation.
The organization was the first to set up a military confidence-building mechanism in border areas and launch Belt and Road cooperation. “We were the first to conclude a treaty on long-term good-neighborliness, friendship and cooperation, proclaiming our commitment to forging lasting friendship and refraining from hostilities,” he said.
The member states were also the first to put forth the vision of global governance featuring extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefit as an effort to practice true multilateralism.
“We should advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world and a universally beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, and make the global governance system more just and equitable,” he added.
Xi called on SCO member states to stay true to the organization’s founding mission, and promote its sound and sustained development with greater resolve and more practical measures.
SCO member states should seek common ground while putting aside differences, pursue mutual benefit and win-win results, champion openness and inclusiveness, uphold fairness and justice, and strive for real results and high efficiency, according to Xi.
“SCO member states are all friends and partners,” he said, calling on them to respect their differences, maintain strategic communication, build up consensus, and strengthen solidarity and collaboration.
Xi said the member states should leverage the strengths of their mega-sized markets and economic complementarity between them, and improve trade and investment facilitation.
He expected cooperation to be enhanced in areas such as energy, infrastructure, green industry, digital economy, sci-tech innovation and artificial intelligence.
He urged putting into use the SCO Universal Center for Countering Security Threats and Challenges and the SCO Anti-drug Center, and setting up an SCO development bank as soon as possible to provide stronger underpinnings for security and economic cooperation among member states.
To ensure better development of the SCO with real actions, Xi announced that China will provide 2 billion yuan (about 281 million U.S. dollars) in grant to SCO member states within this year, and issue an additional 10 billion yuan in loan to the member banks of the SCO Interbank Consortium over the next three years.
In addition, China plans to implement 100 “small and beautiful” livelihood projects in the member states with such need. In the next five years, China will establish 10 Luban Workshops in the countries and provide 10,000 human resources training opportunities.
China’s investment stock in other SCO member states has exceeded 84 billion U.S. dollars, and its annual bilateral trade with other SCO member states has surpassed 500 billion U.S. dollars.
“China always aligns its development with that of the SCO and with the aspiration of the people of member states for a better life,” Xi said.
