Chinese President Xi Jinping presented a four-point proposal at the 26th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, the Chinese news agency Xinhua reported, quoted by BTA.
In his speech at the summit, Xi noted that this year marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of the SCO. He pointed out that 25 years ago, safeguarding sovereignty, security and development interests had become a common consensus among countries in the region, given the lessons of the Cold War, the real threat posed by the "three evil powers", as well as the strong aspirations of people in various countries for peace and development. Thus, the SCO came into being, and the organization has increasingly demonstrated its strong vitality and dynamism, Xi explained.
Over the past 25 years, the SCO has come a very long way, Xi said, noting that its most significant achievement is its gradual transformation into a new-type regional cooperation organization, covering the largest geographical area, representing the largest population and possessing huge development potential on a global scale.
The SCO's most valuable spiritual asset is its pioneering proposal and unwavering adherence to the "Shanghai Spirit" of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for the diversity of civilizations and the pursuit of common development, he said.
The most important experience of the SCO in the field of cooperation is that the organization has found the right path of coexistence, characterized by no alliances, no confrontation and no targeting of third parties, while at the same time uniting countries in the region to build a common home, he added.
Xi said that 25 years later, as the unprecedented profound changes in the last century are gaining momentum, the rivalry between dialogue and confrontation, win-win cooperation and the "zero-sum" approach is intensifying. (a concept from game theory that describes a situation where the gain or loss of value for each participant is equal to the losses or gains, respectively, of the other participants - ed.), as well as between multilateralism and unilateralism, and the shadow of war continues to haunt the world.
Xi called on the SCO to remain committed to putting development first and to be open to the prospect of shared prosperity. According to Xi, the SCO should advocate for a mutually beneficial and inclusive economic globalization, strengthen cooperation in traditional areas such as trade and investment, connectivity, energy and resources, and expand cooperation in emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, the digital economy, green industry and reducing environmental damage in the extraction of minerals and precious metals.
China views the SCO as a priority area for high-quality joint construction of the "One Belt, One Road" initiative. and the implementation of the "Global Development Initiative" and will continue to host events such as the SCO Digital Economy Forum and the SCO Agricultural Expo, Xi said.
China will also set up a center for international cooperation in artificial intelligence applications for SCO countries, establish a China-SCO port economy cooperation center in Tianjin, and jointly implement 100 technology cooperation projects with SCO countries in the next three years, Xi added.
The Chinese president called on the SCO to remain committed to putting security as a key goal and fostering an environment of common security.
The SCO should coordinate its actions to counter traditional and non-traditional security threats, fight against the "three evil forces" - international organized crime, drug trafficking and telecommunications fraud, to strengthen cooperation in the fields of information security, biological security and space security, and to prevent external forces from interfering in internal affairs that threatens political security and undermines regional stability, Xi noted.
He said China is ready to work with all countries to realize the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, and to make the SCO an important platform for implementing the "Global Security Initiative".
China supports the recent opening of the SCO's "four security centers" to enhance member states' capacity to deal with security threats and challenges, the Chinese president stressed.
Xi also called on the organization to put people first and consolidate the foundation of everlasting friendship.
Xi also called on the organization to put people first and consolidate the foundation of everlasting friendship. The SCO should take into account the characteristics of each member state's history, culture, social system and development stage, build cooperation networks among legislative bodies, political parties, educational institutions, think tanks, enterprises and media, promote people-to-people exchanges and breathe life into good-neighborly relations and friendship among member states, he said.
China is ready to work with all countries to realize the "Global Initiative for Civilization" and supports a greater role for the SCO Commission on Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation and other people-to-people exchanges, Xi said.
Xi also called on the SCO to promote dialogue and consultation and strive for more equitable and orderly governance.
He stressed that the SCO must always uphold the principle that all countries, regardless of size, are equal, and that regional issues should be discussed by all countries to overcome differences and reach consensus, properly resolve differences through dialogue and consultation, and address common challenges through multilateral coordination.
China supports the SCO in setting an example of cooperation in implementing the "Global Governance Initiative," Xi said, calling for continued efforts to improve the SCO's operational mechanisms and enhance the efficiency of decision-making and implementation.
The Chinese The president said that more like-minded countries are welcome to become partners of the SCO to join efforts to improve regional and global governance.
Xi stressed that China is willing to work with all countries to continue to uphold the ideas of the "Shanghai Spirit", implement the SCO development strategy for the next decade, strive for higher-quality development, and make greater contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind.