Chinese President Xi Jinping today called on the members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Astana to ensure security in the face of the real threat arising from the Cold War mentality.
Addressing the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO, held in the Kazakh capital, Xi also urged member countries to adhere to the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, to address the complex and intertwined security challenges through dialogue and coordination, and to respond to the international landscape full of profound changes with a shared profit approach, in order to build a world of lasting peace and universal security.
Xi praised Kazakhstan’s positive efforts and important contributions to improve the SCO’s operational mechanism and deepen cooperation in various areas during its current presidency, and welcomed Belarus attending this SCO summit as a member state for the first time.
He noted that the SCO was founded at the beginning of the century, when the clashes and divisions left by the Cold War had not yet been resolved.
The founding members of the SCO made the historic decision to pursue peaceful development, engage with good-neighbourliness and friendship, and build a new kind of international relations, Xi said, adding that the Spirit of Shanghai has become a shared value and a guiding principle for member states.
Noting that the organization has had its tenth member state since its creation 23 years ago, the Chinese president said that the basis for SCO cooperation has become stronger as the SCO’s “big family,” a growing membership, covering three continents globally.
As the world faces accelerated changes not seen in a century, human society is again at a crossroads of history, Xi said.
The head of state added that the SCO is on the right side of history, equity and justice, and this is of great importance to the world.
The president also asked the members of the SCO to safeguard the right to development in the face of the real risks of small partying.
The organization’s members, according to President Xi, must adhere to mutual benefits and inclusiveness, unite to drive scientific and technological innovation, keep industrial and supply chains stable and fluid, stimulate the internal momentum of regional economies, and work towards common development goals.
In addition, Xi emphasized that SCO members must consolidate unity and jointly oppose external interference, in the face of real challenges of interference and division.
The members of the SCO must rely forcefully on each other, adapt to the concerns of others, manage internal differences in a spirit of harmony, resolve the difficulties of cooperation through seeking common ground by leaving aside differences, and firmly taking the fate of our countries, as well as peace and development in the region, the Chinese president added.
The SCO has resisted the test of the changing international landscape, the cause of which is the fact that SCO members remain committed to the good tradition of solidarity and coordination, the form of cooperation characterized by equality and mutual benefit, the pursuit of the value of equity and justice, and the breadth of a view of inclusion and mutual learning, Xi stressed.
The Chinese President urged the Member States to remain faithful to the original aspiration, to continue to defend the Spirit of Shanghai, to help each other on their respective paths to success, to jointly maintain the development direction of the SCO and to turn the organization into a reliable backbone for the common prosperity and revitalization of its member States.
The leaders of the SCO members who attended the meeting spoke positively of the constructive role of the organization in safeguarding regional peace and security, and expressed the willingness to further strengthen cooperation in areas such as trade, transport, energy, finance, agriculture, digital economy and technological innovation, as well as to deepen exchanges between peoples and cooperation in education, culture, tourism and youth, among other areas.
Noting that the current global political and economic landscape, as well as international relations, are undergoing major changes, leaders said that the United Nations should play a central coordinating role in promoting the construction of a more representative, democratic and equitable multipolar global system and in the drive of mutually beneficial and inclusive economic globalization.
They urged respect for the legitimate security concerns of all countries, to commit themselves to resolving differences and disputes between countries through peaceful means and to oppose unilateral sanctions and interference in the internal affairs of other countries.
The leaders agreed to improve the SCO mechanism to address security threats and challenges, resolutely combat the three forces, drug trafficking and transnational organized crime, support the efforts of the international community for peace and development in Afghanistan, and to support a comprehensive and just solution to the Palestinian question based on the two-State solution.
The leaders signed and issued a series of documents, including a statement from Astana and an initiative calling for solidarity among countries to promote global justice, harmony and development.
The meeting formally approved Belarus’ accession to the SCO and decided that China would resume the rotating presidency of the organization during 2024-2025.
This article has been translated after first appearing in El Pais