Shanghai Spirit ushers in new chapter of shared future for humanity

Editor's note: Wang Yiwei is Jean Monnet chair professor and director of the Institute of International Affairs at Renmin University of China. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The rise and fall of great powers is a constant cycle. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) transitioned from addressing the fragmentation caused by the Soviet Union's dissolution – border delineation, border security, regional security – to today's unity, embodying the Shanghai Spirit of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diverse civilizations and pursuit of common development.

Transcending outdated notions of civilizational conflict, Cold War mentality and zero-sum games, it has become a model of a new type of international organization, promoting new international relations and a community with a shared future for humanity.

Over the 23 years since its establishment, the SCO has adhered to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Charter and the Treaty on Long-Term Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. It has built a constructive partnership that is non-aligned, non-confrontational and not targeted at any third party.

This is a significant innovation in the theory and practice of international relations, pioneering a new model of regional cooperation, contributing to regional peace and development, and promoting the common revitalization of Eurasian countries, thereby advancing the building of a community with a shared future for humanity and ushering in a new human civilization.

The dream of lasting peace

There's a Western saying, "Man has created a desert and called it peace." The ancient Greek historian Thucydides also noted, "Peace is the pause in war." Despite German philosopher Immanuel Kant's ideal of "Perpetual Peace," Western international relations have remained trapped in a cycle of war-peace-war.

Kenneth Waltz, a realist international relations theorist, wrote, "Theorists explain what historians know: war is the norm." Inspired by Chinese philosopher from the Song Dynasty (960-1279) Zhang Zai's ideal of "opening up eternal peace for the world," the SCO advocates resolving disputes peacefully and promoting development and prosperity through win-win cooperation.

The aspiration for common security

From its inception, the SCO has implemented China's new security concept. It has evolved from the initial "mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and collaboration" to the "common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable" security concept, building a community of shared future where members treat each other as equals, help each other, and share weal and woe.

From tackling the "three evil forces" to economic and security cooperation, the SCO has become an effective mechanism for maintaining peace and stability in the Eurasian region. It has made significant progress in addressing unconventional security challenges, including international terrorism, extremism, organized crime and drug trafficking.

Based on the new type of major-power relations between China and Russia, the SCO advocates a security partnership that is not aligned with any alliance and not aimed at third parties. This forms a new framework for global governance, promoting a more just, reasonable, inclusive and orderly international order, contributing to global strategic stability and serving universal human security.

The shared goal of universal prosperity

The SCO is also a platform for practicing China's win-win cooperation concept. On regional development issues, it promotes multilateralism, free trade and the construction of an open world economy.

Consultations and information exchanges among relevant authorities of the SCO member states are significant, pushing for the establishment of the SCO Development Bank and Development Fund. Under the Belt and Road Initiative, the SCO is endowed with new missions of security governance and connectivity.

The support for establishing comprehensive rules, principles and norms for state behavior in the information domain at the Qingdao summit in 2018 is another example of the SCO's functional expansion and timely progress.

An open and inclusive international system

From its establishment, the SCO established the principle of not targeting other countries and international organizations, forming a cooperation model of partnership without alliances and dialogue without confrontation.

Member states should continue to uphold the Shanghai Spirit, championing peace, development and cooperation without forming closed or exclusive circles or engaging in geopolitical calculations.

They should actively promote the construction of new international relations based on mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation, collectively building a community with a shared future for humanity.

The SCO consistently adheres to principles of openness, equality, inclusiveness and transparency in its external interactions, continuously expanding its geographical reach.

The SCO also includes dialogue partners and observer states, advocating for trade facilitation and maintaining a multilateral trade system centered on World Trade Organization rules, striving for an open world economy, and voicing a unified stance against protectionism, dedicated to maintaining an open and inclusive international system.

A beautiful and clean Earth

The SCO places high importance on environmental protection. Leaders of member states have jointly approved a concept for environmental cooperation, establishing strategic goals dedicated to maintaining ecological balance and achieving green and sustainable development. One of the outcomes of the Qingdao summit was the approval of the Concept of Cooperation of the SCO Member States in the Field of Environmental Protection to enhance environmental governance.

With consensus among all parties, the 2018 Qingdao Declaration incorporated the goal of promoting the construction of new international relations based on mutual respect, fairness, justice and win-win cooperation, and building a community with a shared future for humanity. This has become the most important political consensus and objective of the SCO.

To better serve the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for the SCO to advocate new concepts of development, security, cooperation, civilization and global governance.

These concepts summarize the basic ideas for building new international relations, adding new contemporary connotations to the Shanghai Spirit, and endowing the SCO with a new historical mission.

Since its establishment, the Shanghai Spirit has created strong cohesion and stimulated cooperation. It has become an important ideological foundation and guiding principle for the successful development of the SCO, despite differences in cultural backgrounds, political systems and levels of economic development among member states.

The "Shanghai Spirit" is the soul and shared treasure of the SCO and must be upheld and promoted. We should continue to work together in solidarity and cooperation under the guidance of the Shanghai Spirit to make the SCO a model for regional cooperation.

The Qingdao Declaration reiterates that it is by adhering to the Shanghai Spirit that the SCO has withstood the test of changing international dynamics and become an extremely important stabilizing force in today's uncertain international situation.

The Shanghai Spirit aligns closely with China's traditional concept of "harmony and unity," and has become the core value of the SCO, continuing to provide strong guarantees for its development and growth. At the same time, the Shanghai Spirit essentially reveals the basic principles that should be followed in state-to-state interactions, fully aligning with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and will inevitably have a positive and profound impact on the construction of new international relations by all countries.

SCO member states are close neighbors with similar development tasks and interconnected destinies, and they should play a leading role in building a community with a shared future. This shared concept was established in the Qingdao Declaration, sending a powerful message of "shared breath, shared destiny," which will help deepen mutually beneficial cooperation among SCO member states, inject continuous momentum into the SCO's development, and promote common development and prosperity in the region and the world.

In China, there are spirit lineages, from the founding spirit of the Communist Party of China, the Yan'an Spirit, the Two Bombs and One Satellite Spirit, to the Aerospace Spirit. On a global level, a spirit lineage for the community with a shared future for humanity is being built: the Shanghai Spirit, the BRICS Spirit, the Silk Road Spirit, the China-Africa Friendship Spirit, the China-France Spirit, among others. In this sense, the Shanghai Spirit marks the beginning chapter of the spirit lineage for the community with a shared future for humanity.