Jointly Creating a Better Future for SCO Cooperation and Win Win Cooperation

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning recently stated at a regular press conference that the Astana Summit is the most important event within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization this year.  

The SCO family continues to expand

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is the only international organization named after a Chinese city to date, and has become an important mechanism for China to enhance cooperation with Central Asian and broader Eurasian countries. At present, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has 9 formal member states, 3 observer states, and 14 dialogue partners. Zhang Ming, Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, revealed that he has also received applications from countries in the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia and other regions actively seeking to join the "SCO family".

"Belarus will join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) as an official member state at the Astana Summit, and the number of SCO member states will reach double digits, achieving a historic breakthrough." Cui Zheng, Executive Vice President and Professor of the China Open Economy Research Institute at Liaoning University, stated in an interview with China Trade Daily that since the establishment of the SCO, it has established a new model of international relations characterized by mutual respect, fairness, justice, and win-win cooperation. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization does not engage in closed and exclusive "small circles", but rather an open and inclusive "big family". It is a new type of international organization with vitality and vigor. The constantly expanding circle of friends helps the SCO to exert positive influence on a larger scale.

Since the establishment of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the scale of trade among member countries has continued to expand, and investment cooperation has been actively promoted. The 2022 Shanghai Cooperation Organization's 20 Year Trade Development Report shows that the total trade value of SCO member countries has increased by nearly 100 times over the past 20 years, accounting for 17.5% of global trade value from 5.4% in 2001 to 2020. The global trade influence of SCO member countries continues to strengthen.

Regarding the Astana Summit, Cui Zheng stated that security and stability remain the top priority, while combating terrorism, extremism, and organized crime remains a key focus. Economic cooperation is another major priority, and improving transportation and logistics networks to promote regional connectivity and economic growth will be a key focus. Nowadays, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization brings together countries with an area exceeding 65% of the Eurasian continent and a population exceeding 3.5 billion, whose GDP accounts for more than a quarter of the global GDP. Against the backdrop of the global crisis of trust, the attractiveness of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and its principle of establishing multilateral partnerships is increasing.

China actively promotes the development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

 

Sun Zhuangzhi, Director of the Russian Institute for Eastern European and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, pointed out that the SCO adheres to a distinctive concept of cooperation, many of which are China's diplomatic initiatives. China's special role in the SCO has been praised and highly praised by the international community.

Cui Zheng told reporters that from a bilateral perspective, China and multiple member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization have reached an agreement on building a bilateral community with a shared future, playing a demonstrative and leading role; From a regional perspective, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization plays a positive role in promoting peace, stability, development, and prosperity in the region and even the world, becoming a united and progressive force worldwide. China, together with all parties involved, is guided by the "Shanghai Spirit" to further deepen cooperation in the fields of politics, security, economy, trade, and humanities, promote high-quality development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, promote the construction of a closer community with a shared future for the SCO, bring more benefits to the people of the region, and contribute more to lasting world peace and common prosperity.

The initiative of jointly building the "the Belt and Road" was first put forward in the SCO region. Over the past decade, with the continuous progress of cooperation in jointly building the "the Belt and Road", China has constantly strengthened practical cooperation with other SCO countries. Recently, the signing ceremony of the intergovernmental agreement on the China Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan railway project was held in Beijing. The China Kyrgyzstan Ukraine Railway is a strategic project for interconnectivity between China and Central Asia. After completion, it will greatly promote interconnectivity among the three countries and drive faster economic and social development in the region.

After this summit, China will take over the rotating presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization from 2024 to 2025, marking the first time in seven years that China has taken over the presidency.

China Central Asia Cooperation Continuously Deepens

  This visit is another intimate interaction between China and the heads of state of Central Asia.

In recent years, China and Central Asian countries have leveraged their complementary advantages, deepened strategic docking, and achieved fruitful results in practical cooperation in multiple fields. In May 2023, the first China Central Asia Summit was held in China, which established a comprehensive layout and framework for the China Central Asia mechanism. The China Central Asia summit mechanism was officially established, fully leveraging the strategic leadership role of the heads of state diplomacy and strengthening top-level design and overall planning for the development of China Central Asian relations.

Kazakhstan is a friendly neighbor and permanent comprehensive strategic partner of China. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations 32 years ago, China Kazakhstan relations have always maintained a healthy and stable development momentum, becoming a model of good neighborly friendship, mutual benefit and win-win cooperation among neighboring countries. China and Kazakhstan have strong economic complementarity and are natural partners for cooperation. In 2023, China became Kazakhstan's largest trading partner, with a trade volume of 41 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 32%. Kazakhstan has participated in the CIIE for six consecutive years, and the completion and operation of the Xi'an Land Port in Kazakhstan have opened the door of opportunity for its high-quality products to enter the Chinese market.

Major cooperation projects between China and Kazakhstan are advancing in an orderly manner, and achievements in cooperation in fields such as agriculture, new energy, and high technology are constantly emerging. From the Zanatas wind farm to the Akmora state wind farm, China Kazakhstan cooperation has continuously broken records in the power generation of wind power projects in Central Asia. From the completion and operation of the Turgusun hydropower station to the grid connected power generation of the Kapuchagai 100 MW photovoltaic power station, Chinese enterprises have assisted Kazakhstan's energy transformation process. "In the future, China and Kazakhstan will actively support the development of cross-border e-commerce, digital economy and other new forms of business within the framework of the joint construction of the the Belt and Road, accelerate the implementation of strategic cooperation projects, and promote the comprehensive development of cooperation in energy, minerals, metallurgy and chemicals, infrastructure, logistics and transportation, equipment manufacturing, agriculture and grain and other fields." Cui Zheng said.

Cui Zheng said that Tajikistan was one of the first countries to support the "the Belt and Road" initiative and sign cooperation documents with China. In recent years, China Tajikistan relations have maintained a good momentum of development, the political mutual trust between the two countries has been constantly consolidated, and the joint construction of the "the Belt and Road" cooperation has yielded fruitful results. The achievements of the China Tajikistan Highway, connecting the Wahdat Railway Bridge and Tunnel, and providing employment opportunities in the agricultural and textile industry park, which shuttle through the Pamir Plateau, have helped deepen economic and trade cooperation between China and Tajikistan. In the future, China and Tajikistan will explore cooperation in areas such as green technology, digital economy, and artificial intelligence, injecting momentum into the high-quality development of China Tajikistan relations.