Xi proposal key for better SCO development and global governance, experts say

Chinese President Xi Jinping's speeches at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit charted a blueprint for the organization's pursuit of higher quality development and offered key guidance for better global governance, according to experts.

In his speeches at the 26th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO and the "SCO Plus" meeting in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek on Tuesday, Xi said that China is ready to work with all parties to continue to strive for higher quality development and make the global governance system more just and equitable. 

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Full text: President Xi Jinping's speech at 26th SCO Council of Heads of State meeting

Full text of Xi Jinping's speech at 'SCO Plus' meeting

Towards the higher quality development of the organization, the Chinese president put forward a four-point proposal: putting development first and opening up the prospects for shared prosperity; taking security as a key goal and fostering an environment of common security; adhering to a people-centered approach and cementing the foundation for everlasting friendship; and committing to dialogue and consultation and striving for more equitable and orderly governance.

In alignment with China's four global initiatives on development, security, civilization and governance, the four points serve as a clear roadmap for the SCO to translate those initiatives into concrete action, experts said.

Farhat Asif, president of the Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies in Pakistan, said Xi integrated the four major global initiatives into the SCO development strategy for the next decade, adopted at the Tianjin summit last year, thus putting in place a systematic framework that enables the SCO to achieve higher quality development.

Xi announced on Tuesday that China will develop an international artificial intelligence (AI) application cooperation center with fellow SCO countries, establish a China-SCO port economic cooperation center in Tianjin, and implement 100 technological cooperation projects with other SCO countries in the next three years, among others.

Kanat Beisek, president of the Kazakhstan-China Trade Promotion Association, said the new measures unveiled by Xi will help drive the integration of industrial, supply and value chains across the SCO countries.

They will also expand cooperation in emerging fields such as AI, digital economy, green industries and green minerals, enabling the organization to further diversify cooperation and galvanize new development momentum, Beisek said.

A robust response to Global South's call

In his speech at the "SCO Plus" meeting, Xi called on all the SCO member states and partners to jointly advocate an equal and orderly multipolar world, make global governance more just and equitable, and build a community with a shared future for humanity.

Hamed Vafaei, director of the Asia Research Center at the University of Tehran, said Xi delivered a robust response to the international community's common aspirations for fairness and justice amid a turbulent international environment.

The Chinese president provided essential guidance for how to address predicaments in global governance, Vafaei added.

Xi made it clear that as a responsible major country, China advocates for an equal and orderly multipolar world, and he laid out China's approach in four respects: sovereign equality and mutual respect as fundamental principles; balance, order and the rule of law as inherent requirements; multilateralism, dialogue and consultation as essential pathways; and mutual benefit, win-win and inclusiveness as the way forward for development.

Kin Phea, director general of the International Relations Institute of Cambodia, said he found profound resonance with Xi's observations that the rise of the Global South in recent years is driving a shift in the international balance of power and that the trend toward a multipolar world is irreversible.

Kin said the SCO, as a key force in improving global governance, should champion the common values of humanity, unite with and expand the "SCO Plus" partnership network, and contribute to the continued growth and strength of the Global South.