The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries should uphold the Shanghai Spirit, work together and help each other to build a closer SCO community with a shared future, Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said Friday.

The world today is entering a new period of turbulence and transformation, profound changes unseen in a century are resonating with the most serious pandemic in 100 years, international and regional hotspot issues keep cropping up, and all countries are faced with the arduous tasks of development and stability, Wang said at a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the SCO in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.

"Faced with the arduous task of development and stability, we must uphold the Shanghai Spirit," he said.

A bedrock principle of the organization that groups India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, the Shanghai Spirit is based on mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, mutual consultations, diverse civilizations and pursuit of common development.

China's five-point proposal

To build a closer SCO community with a shared future, the Chinese top diplomat put forward a five-point proposal.

First, the SCO countries should cement solidarity and coordination. In accordance with the purposes and principles enshrined in the SCO Charter and the Treaty on Good-neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation among the SCO members, they should strengthen the foundation of mutual trust, support each other on issues of core interests and major concerns, and safeguard the sovereignty, security and development interests.

Second, the SCO members need to better ensure regional security. They should implement the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and oppose confrontation between factions or behaviors that undermine regional stability.

Third, the SCO countries should promote sustainable development. They need to pursue people-centered development, carry out more cooperation projects that are sustainable and beneficial to people's well-being, and deepen high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

Fourth, the SCO members should adhere to multilateralism. They need to oppose propagating the false narrative of "democracy against authoritarianism" and creating rifts in the international community. They should resolutely promote genuine multilateralism, advocate the common values of all mankind, and work to improve the global governance.

Fifth, the SCO countries should enhance the construction of the organization. They need to enlarge the group in a steady and orderly manner, take into account geographical factors, include more observer states and dialogue partners while accepting new members, so that more countries that share the same cooperation concepts can obtain a corresponding legal status in a way that the comprehensive strength of the SCO will increase and its openness and inclusiveness will be shown.

Disinformation on 'forced labor' in Xinjiang denounced

During the meeting on Friday, Wang Yi denounced the disinformation campaign by some countries clamoring about "forced labor" in Xinjiang.

Noting that such attempts, under the pretext of human rights, are intended to undermine the prosperity and stability of Xinjiang and contain China's development and revitalization, Wang stressed that the people of all ethnic groups in Xinjiang will never allow this, and all Chinese people will never agree to it.

The SCO countries have suffered deeply due to external interferences, he said, urging them to learn from historical experience and stand against any attempt to interfere in other countries' internal affairs, instigate color revolutions or subvert legitimate governments.

On Afghan issue

Wang on Friday elaborated on China's view on the Afghan issue and said Afghanistan is now in a critical period of overcoming chaos and establishing governance, with the situation generally moving toward stability, but still facing many challenges.

The SCO should adhere to contact and dialogue, and encourage the establishment of an inclusive government, which is expected to adopt prudent policies in its work as well, said Wang.

The regional body should jointly fight terrorism and urge Afghanistan to eliminate all terrorist forces in the country, he said, adding the organization will adhere to multilateral coordination and build more consensus among countries in the region.

Member states reaffirm mutual trust

The foreign ministers who participated in Friday's meeting fully affirmed the important role played by the SCO in consolidating the strategic mutual trust among member states, promoting regional development and prosperity, and deepening people-to-people bonds. They believed that solidarity and coordination should be further strengthened, and multilateralism should be activated, so as to adapt to the rapidly changing international situation.

They agreed to expand mutually beneficial cooperation, improve the level of regional connectivity, and believed that the SCO will play a greater role in promoting the stability of international production and supply chains.

They also pledged to make good use of the rich cultural resources of countries in the region and strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges and cooperation. They discussed the establishment of the SCO Development Bank and agreed to advance the SCO membership expansion process in an orderly manner.

All parties spoke highly of the work of Uzbekistan which holds the SCO's rotating presidency, and supported the SCO Secretariat and regional anti-terrorist agencies to strengthen their own construction and provide stronger guarantees for the organization's cooperation in various fields.

The meeting made comprehensive preparations for the SCO summit in the city of Samarkand to be held this autumn, and also adopted draft documents that will be submitted to the summit for deliberation.

(With input from Xinhua)

(Cover: A meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan, July 29, 2022. /Xinhua)