A Plus Role

ON July 4， Chinese President Xi Jinpingattended the expanded meeting of theShanghai Cooperation Organization（SCO）， or SCO+ at the IndependencePalace in Astana， Kazakhstan， calling for buildinga common home featuring solidarity and mutualtrust， peace and tranquility， prosperity anddevelopment， good-neighborliness and friendship，as well as fairness and justice. Over the pasttwo decades， guided by the Shanghai Spirit –mutual trust， mutual benefit， equality， consultation，respect for cultural diversity and pursuit ofcommon development – the SCO has promotedregional cooperation and championed multilateralismin a changing world.

Common Values

In his speech， Xi said the SCO was establishedat the turn of the century when the confrontationsand divisions in the aftermath of the ColdWar were yet to be resolved.

“The founding members of the organizationmade a historic decision to pursue peacefuldevelopment， commit to good neighborlinessand friendship， and build a new type of internationalrelations. The Shanghai Spirit has becomethe shared value and guideline for action amongthe member countries，” he said. Today， “the SCOstands on the right side of history， fairness andjustice， and is of great significance to the world.”

Established by China， Russia， Kazakhstan，Kyrgyzstan， Tajikistan， and Uzbekistan on June15， 2001， the SCO is a comprehensive regionalcooperation organization that covers the largestarea and population in the world. The ShanghaiSpirit is the common value shared by the group.

Xi has repeatedly stressed the importance ofthe Shanghai Spirit. For example， last year， hetold the 23rd meeting of the Council of Heads ofState of the SCO， “The concept of a communitywith a shared future for mankind has gained extensiverecognition and support from the internationalcommunity and has been transformingfrom an idea to action and a vision to reality.”He then stressed， “At the forefront of this trend"is the SCO， upholding this very concept and theShanghai Spirit to build an SCO community witha shared future.”

The SCO has evolved from a regional organizationfocusing on security cooperation to one withgrowing global influence. From the original six，its memebership has expanded to 10. This year，for the first time， the summit was held in theformat of a “Meeting of the Council of Heads ofState of the SCO” and an “SCO +” meeting withthe inclusion of Belarus.

In the face of new challenges such as regionalconflicts and faltering global economic recovery，upholding the Shanghai Spirit has become evenmore relevant. Xi said in Astana， “To cope with"this major transformation， the key is to havethe wisdom to see the changes， the ability todeal with the changes， and the courage to makechanges… We need to bear in mind that we livein a community with a shared future and alwaysuphold the Shanghai Spirit.”

He made five proposals： to build a commonhome of solidarity and mutual trust， peace andtranquility， prosperity and development， goodneighborlinessand friendship， and fairness andjustice. He also detailed some concrete measuresto deal with the challenges， including providingtraining in digital technology to at least 1，000people from other SCO countries in the nextthree years.

“China will work with SCO partners in thespirit of solidarity and cooperation and joinhands with more countries and internationalorganizations that identify with the ShanghaiSpirit to strive for common progress and fosterbrighter prospects for a community with ashared future for mankind，” he promised.

Xi’s remarks have been endorsed by internationalexperts. According to Xinhua， Aliya Mussabekova，an expert from the Kazakhstan Institutefor Strategic Studies， said， “In the face of challengessuch as geopolitical turbulence， the SCOshould continue to uphold the Shanghai Spirit，further enhance the organization’s cohesion， andpromote the development of global governancein a more just and equitable direction.”

Vasily Kashin， director of the Centre for ComprehensiveEuropean and International Studiesof the HSE University in Moscow， Russia， said：“In the face of the accelerated evolution of theworld order， it is hoped that the SCO will continueto uphold the Shanghai Spirit and injectpositive energy into maintaining lasting peaceand common prosperity in the region and theworld.”

BRI Cooperation

The Shanghai Spirit has helped boost cooperationbetween the SCO countries， extendingfrom security to other areas， especially theeconomy. According to a trade developmentreport on the 20th anniversary of the SCO in2022， the value of trade among SCO memberstates increased nearly 100 times over 20 years，with their share of global trade rising from 5.4percent in 2001 to 17.5 percent in 2020， demonstratingthe SCO’s expanding influence on globaltrade.

The Belt and Road Initiative （BRI） has playedan important role in promoting SCO economiccooperation. Xi proposed building a “Silk RoadEconomic Belt，” the overland arm of the BRI，during his visit to Kazakhstan in September2013. It received a positive response from SCOmember states and was included in the SCO’seconomic cooperation agenda. Subsequently，cooperation among SCO countries began to"focus on the economy. Since then， the BRI hasempowered the development of the SCO.

On June 6， 2024， a trilateral intergovernmentalagreement was signed between China， Kyrgyzstanand Uzbekistan for a transborder strategicproject of rail connectivity between Chinaand Central Asia， which will be a landmark Beltand Road cooperation project among the threecountries.

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railwaywill start from Kashgar in China’s Xinjiang UygurAutonomous Region， and then run throughKyrgyzstan into Uzbekistan. In the future， it canbe extended to West Asia and South Asia. Therailway will enhance connectivity among thethree countries and drive faster economic andsocial development in the region.

Xi said， “China is ready to make continuousefforts with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to laythe groundwork for the launch of the projectand finish building this strategic corridor at an"early date to bring benefits to the three countriesand peoples and boost the economic andsocial development of the region.”

Zhao Xiao， Chinese Ambassador to Kazakhstan，told CCTV that the SCO is an importantplatform for jointly building the BRI. “Thepractical cooperation within the SCO not onlypromotes economic development and improvesthe livelihoods of the member states but alsoprovides significant support for the continuousupgrading of the BRI cooperation.”

As more countries join the SCO， the economicties among member countries through the BRIcooperation will be further enhanced.

Upholding Multilateralism

As the SCO involves diverse cultures andcivilizations， upholding multilateralism is crucialto its future development. Xi said， “We shouldjointly advocate an equal and orderly multipolarworld and a universally beneficial and inclusive"economic globalization， practice true multilateralism，and make global governance more justand equitable.”

At the SCO Summit in China’s port city Qingdaoin 2018， Xi had called on SCO countries towork closely to build an SCO community with ashared future. In the Qingdao Declaration， theSCO members embraced “building a communitywith a shared future for humanity” as their mostimportant political consensus and the goal fortheir future efforts.

With some countries opting for unilateralismand protectionism today， the successful experienceof the SCO has proven the value of multilateralismand open cooperation. As Xi said，“When confronting the real threat of Cold Warmentality， we should safeguard the bottom lineof security; when facing the real risks of ‘smallyard， high fence，’ we should protect the right todevelopment; when encountering the real challengesof interference and division， we shouldconsolidate the strength of unity.”

During his meetings with other leaders on thesidelines of the Astana SCO Summit， Xi affirmedChina’s commitment to multilateralism in a turbulentworld. He told Russian President VladimirPutin that China looks forward to working withRussia and other member states to promote thesteady and long-term development of the SCOand build an even closer SCO community with ashared future.

When meeting UN Secretary-General AntonioGuterres， he said， “No matter how the internationalsituation changes， China always adheresto genuine multilateralism and supports theUnited Nations in playing a central role in internationalaffairs.” In reply， Guterres thanked Chinafor supporting the cause of the United Nations，practicing multilateralism， and playing a key andconstructive role in promoting world peace anddevelopment.

Twenty-three years ago， when the SCO wasestablished， it aimed to jointly maintain regionalpeace， security， and stability. Now， as the worldis undergoing new changes and challenges， it’sbecoming more meaningful for the organizationto pursue its original aspiration.