Thanks for joining us on the first day of special coverage on the SCO summit from Qingdao. It's a nice day out here today. Together with colleague Elaine from Washington, we will be bringing you the latest from the summit throughout the week from our studio here on the waterfront. Across the open water behind me is the venue of the summit, and one of Qingdao's landmarks, the Olympic Sailing Center.

Yes, Such a lovely day. I wish I could have more time strolling around the city and visiting some of the tourist attractions. They sound amazing. 

Well Elaine, you can take in these sights for now with our reporter Zou Yun, who's ready to give us a tour on the waves. But first, here's something you should know. China has held four Shanghai Cooperation Organization summits since it was first established in 2001. Here's more details on each summit.

On June 15th, 2001, the first meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council was held in Shanghai. At the meeting, the six heads of state signed the Declaration on the Establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, declaring that the SCO was formally established. The six countries include Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

On June 15th, 2006, the sixth meeting was also held in Shanghai. The six heads of state put forward a long-term plan on the development of the SCO in relation to the theme of carrying forward the Shanghai Spirit, deepening pragmatic cooperation and promoting peaceful development, signed important documents including the Declaration on the Fifth Anniversary of the SCO and determined the direction and mission for the next few years of development of the SCO.

On June 6-7, 2012, the 12th meeting was held in Beijing. Leaders present at the meeting exchanged in-depth views on deepening friendly cooperation among the member states and major international and regional issues, planned the future development of the SCO and reached new important consensus. The heads of state signed ten documents including the Declaration of Heads of State of the SCO on Building a Region with Lasting Peace and Common Prosperity. The heads of state of the SCO unanimously agreed to admit Afghanistan as an SCO observer and Turkey as an SCO dialogue partner.

Six years later, the SCO meeting comes to Qingdao, a coastal city in east China's Shandong Province. More than 160 activities including a series of important institutional meetings and multilateral events have been held since China took over the rotating presidency last June. Chinese President Xi Jinping will chair the 18th Summit on the 9th and 10th June.