Chinese President Xi Jinping attends the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization at the Independence Palace in Astana, Kazakhstan, July 4, 2024. /Xinhua
Editor's note: Yi Fan is a current affairs commentator based in Beijing. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN.
A few days ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Astana, Kazakhstan. This meeting of SCO leaders charted the future of the organization and strengthened its position in a changing global landscape.
A growing organization committed to the Shanghai Spirit
The SCO is the first international grouping that is named after a Chinese city, with China as a founding member. In 2001, when the organization was inaugurated, it articulated in its declaration of establishment the Shanghai Spirit: mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations and pursuit of common development.
Upholding this ideal, members of the SCO have been able to build political trust, promote good neighborliness, keep the region safe, and stimulate cooperation among themselves. They have found a viable path for peaceful development, and set an example of what a new type of international relations could look like.
After 23 years, the SCO has grown from six members to a big family of 26 countries. It is now the biggest regional organization in the world by land area and population, and still more countries around the world are drawn to the SCO approach and the Shanghai Spirit.
A positive force for peace and prosperity
The summit in Astana fostered consensus for cooperation in many areas like economy, finance, security and culture. Member countries have decided to improve how the SCO deals with security threats and to jointly fight against terrorism, extremism and separatism.
At the meetings, President Xi noted that the SCO should stand on the right side of history, and on the side of fairness and justice. He underscored the importance of solidarity and coordination in SCO's success and China's readiness to work with SCO partners to uphold the Shanghai Spirit, keep SCO development in the right direction, and make it a reliable foundation for all its members to prosper and succeed.
President Xi brought to the SCO's attention three important jobs: hold the bottom line of security in the face of real threats from the Cold War mentality, safeguard the right to development amid real perils of "small yard, high fences," and consolidate unity to respond to real challenges from outside forces to interfere in SCO members' internal affairs and create division.
A group photo of leaders attending the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Astana, Kazakhstan, July 4, 2024. /Xinhua
China for SCO's future
China places the SCO in a special and important position on its diplomatic agenda. President Xi attended the SCO summit in Samarkand right before the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and joined SCO partners again as the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee is drawing closer.
In Astana, President Xi outlined his vision of building the SCO into a common home characterized by solidarity and mutual trust, peace and tranquility, prosperity and development, good neighborliness and friendship, and fairness and justice.
He also laid out the steps China will take as the next SCO president towards these goals. For example, promoting regional cooperation through building demonstration bases for agricultural technology exchange and training, local economic and trade cooperation demonstration areas, and ecology and environment innovation bases; expanding local currency settlement; and initiating an SCO digital education alliance.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Five Principles of Peaceful Coexistence. From the Five Principles to the vision of building a community with a shared future, China has been working consistently to bolster world peace, global development, and to build a new international order. As President Xi pointed out, mankind's voyage into the future will not be smooth sailing, and all countries must pull together in solidarity. This once again shows China is ready to work with all partners to create a better future for everyone.
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