On August 30, "People's Daily" published an article "Learn from the past and learn from the future, and work together to promote the high-quality development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization". The authorWang Yi is Foreign Minister.

To promote high-quality development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

- Written on the occasion of the upcoming Tianjin Summit

Wang Yi

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit will be held in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1. At that time, President Xi Jinping will gather on the banks of the Haihe River with leaders of 23 countries and heads of 10 international organizations to discuss friendship, cooperation and common development.

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Twenty-four years ago, faced with the complicated international and regional situation after the end of the Cold War, China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan jointly founded the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to more effectively enhance good-neighborliness and friendship, strengthen unity and cooperation, and work together to meet challenges.

Over the past 24 years, upholding the "Shanghai Spirit" of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diverse civilizations, and seeking common development, the SCO has continuously promoted regional cooperation, steadily improved mechanism construction, actively participated in international and regional affairs, safeguarded the common interests of member states, promoted world peace and development, and made useful explorations and accumulated successful experience for building a new type of international relations and building a community with a shared future for mankind.

--Unity and mutual trust have been continuously consolidated. The SCO started in the "Shanghai Five". From strengthening military trust in border areas to concluding long-term treaties of good-neighborliness, friendship and cooperation, from respecting their respective development paths to supporting each other's core interests, from exchanging experience in state governance to matching the development strategies of various countries, unity and mutual trust are the main thread. Faced with all kinds of power politics and bullying, member states firmly defend the basic norms of international relations and always speak up for justice, uphold fairness, and support each other as soon as possible.

In the past 24 years, member states have defeated more than 1,400 cases of terrorism and extremist crimes, carried out more than 40 joint anti-terrorism exercises and joint actions such as "Peace Mission" and "Tianshan", and strongly safeguarded regional security. Member States have focused onining strategy, defense, law enforcement, information, ecological and biological security, weaving a network of cooperation, and establishing the organization as a strategic basis to prevent various traditional and non-traditional security threats and challenges.

--Development results are constantly emerging. Member countries have outstanding resource endowments, complementary markets and geographical proximity, and mutually beneficial cooperation shows broad prospects. In the past five years, the trade volume between China and other SCO member states has successively exceeded US $300 billion, US $400 billion, and US $500 billion, reaching a record high of US $512.4 billion in 2024. A pattern of deep regional interconnection is taking shape. According to the polls of SCO countries, nearly 70% of the respondents recognize that the SCO has promoted the sustainable development and modernization process of their country. The development practice of the SCO fully shows that countries with different social systems and different levels of development can achieve coordinated development, mutual benefit and win-win results.

In the past 24 years, the cooperation between member countries in the fields of education, culture, tourism, science and technology, disaster relief, prevention of infectious diseases and other fields has been deepening, and the SCO universities, the capital of culture and tourism, TV festivals, film festivals, art festivals, marathons, children's paintings exhibitions, youth exchange camps and other projects have increased, and more than 30 civil diplomatic teams such as the SCO Good Neighbourhood and Friendship Cooperation Committee have grown.

-International influence is constantly improving. The "Shanghai Spirit" is very popular and regarded as a model of ideas for dealing with state-to-state relations. International recognition and appeal are increasing day by day, and more and more countries are approaching and integrating into the SCO family. The SCO has also strengthened cooperation with many international organizations and multilateral mechanisms such as the United Nations, the CIS, ASEAN and the Arab League. The SCO has always abided by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, pursued the principles of non-alignment, non-confrontation and non-targeting of third parties, and has become the mainstay of practicing true multilateralism in today's world.

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The reason why the SCO has made remarkable achievements in just 24 years, won universal recognition, and developed into the world's most populous and largest regional cooperation organization is because the SCO has always firmly stood on the right side of history and on the side of fairness and justice, we have embarked on a correct path that is in line with the common interests of member states.

The core of the "Shanghai Spirit" is highly consistent with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, is consistent with the five principles of peaceful coexistence, and the demand for good-neighborliness and friendship with the member states fully responds to the Shanghai spirit.

- Always in line with the trend of the times. The outstanding growth of the global South is the most distinctive feature of the times, peace, development, cooperation and win-win are the most magnificent trends of the times, and the community with a shared future for mankind is the brightest prospect of the times. As a collection of emerging markets and developing countries, the SCO member states have explored a new paradigm of cooperation based on self-improvement, unity and development, adhere to dialogue, non-confrontation, partnership and non-alignment, and walk hand in hand on the road to achieving their respective modernization.

-Always respond to people's expectations. Peace and development are the eternal pursuit of human society. The SCO started from consolidating regional security and successfully explored cooperation in various fields. Member States will unswervingly follow the development path in line with their national conditions, jointly build the "the belt and road initiative", build a beautiful home, continue the millennium friendship, share the fruits of development, and turn the yearning of people of all countries for a better life into the goal and motivation of the SCO's progress.

--Always uphold fairness and justice. Entering the 21st century, global challenges emerge one after another, regional hot issues emerge one after another, and the foundation of multilateralism has been eroded. Faced with the issue of the times about where human society will go, the SCO practices true multilateralism with "SCO Action", defends international fairness and justice with "SCO Voice", and promotes the resolution of regional conflicts and differences with the "SCO Plan". Practice the global governance concept of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. A Shanghai Cooperation Organization that has the world in mind and responsibilities in mind has continued to win widespread praise from the international community.

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At the Astana Summit in 2024, President Xi Jinping put forward an important initiative to ¡°build a SCO common home for unity, mutual trust, peace and tranquility, prosperity, development, good neighborhood, friendship and fairness¡±.Since taking over the presidency for one year, China has set the above goals, around the theme of ¡°Sustainable Development Year¡±, practicing the work slogan ¡°Promoting the ¡®Shanghai Spirit: The SCO is in Action¡±, successfully holding 110 important events, and working with other member countries to promote the SCO in deepening cooperation in various fields and improving the operation mechanisms of the organization.

- - We will continue to carry forward the "Shanghai Spirit". President Xi Jinping pointed out that the "Shanghai Spirit" is not only the code of conduct followed by the member states, but also the original intention of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to pursue peace, cooperation and symbiosis. In the face of the intertwined international situation, China will follow President Xi Jinping's guidance as the fundamental principle, work with member states to keep in mind the original intention of the establishment of the organization, polish the golden signboard of the "Shanghai Spirit", and let the "Shanghai Spirit" continue to illuminate the future path of the SCO community with a shared future, with mutual trust and mutual benefit as the foundation of cooperation, equality and consultation as the way to get along, respect for diverse civilizations to promote harmony and inclusiveness, and seek common development to achieve win-win prosperity.

--We will comprehensively and firmly consolidate the foundation of security. President Xi Jinping pointed out that security is the prerequisite for national development, and peace is the lifeline of people's happiness. The SCO must protect the bottom line of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. Only when all countries are safe is true security. At the 2024 Astana Summit, leaders of member states reached a consensus on the establishment of a comprehensive center for addressing security threats and challenges, as well as a center for combating transnational organized crime, an information security center, and an anti-drug center. We must build these "four security centers" to make the SCO's security barrier more solid and the people of the region more at ease.

- - We will actively and actively build a high ground for development. In the face of a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, we need to build more platforms for cooperation on new productive forces, and deepen cooperation in frontier fields such as trade and investment, clean energy, green industry, digital economy, scientific and technological innovation, artificial intelligence, and interconnection. China is willing to take the "Belt and Road Initiative" and the global development initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping as a guide, and work with member states for common development and mutual benefit and win-win results. Continue the momentum and achievements of the "SCO Year of Sustainable Development", implement more sustainable and people-friendly cooperation projects, and help the development and rejuvenation of SCO countries.

The more uncertain the international situation is, the more genuine multilateralism is needed, the more the international system with the United Nations as the core should be defended. This year is the 80th anniversary of the victory of the world anti-fascist war and the founding of the United Nations, the heads of state will issue a special joint statement on this, commemorate this major event in the history of mankind, promote the correct history of the Second World War, safeguard the results of the victory of the Second World War, and call on the people of all countries to study history and create a future. China is willing to use this as an opportunity with its members to continue to support the core role of the United Nations in the international system, advocate equal and orderly world polarisation, inclusive globalization, and promote the development of the international order

¡ª¡ªWe will adhere to innovation and improve organizational construction. Compared to the beginning of the establishment, the SCO itself and the international and regional situation have changed greatly. All parties are willing to build on the historical sense of responsibility to promote the long-term development of the organization, to summarize experience, keep up with the times, to pioneer innovation, to further enhance the direction indicated by the heads of member states, to enhance the cohesion of mechanisms, to enhance the organization's action force, and to continue to strengthen the SCO.

In April this year, the Central Environmental Work Conference pointed out that we should focus on building a community of surrounding destiny and strive to create a new situation for surrounding work. The SCO is a priority of China's surrounding diplomacy and an important part of the overall situation of diplomacy. We will be guided by Xi Jinping's diplomatic thought, in building the concept of a community of human destiny, together with other member states, implement the global development initiative, the global security initiative, the global civilization initiative, and make steady and unremitting efforts for the SCO's large ship.

The upcoming Tianjin Summit will be the largest event in the history of SCO development and will be a milestone for SCO cooperation and development in various fields. Under the guidance of President Xi Jinping and the leaders of the participating countries, China is confident that the Tianjin Summit will be a friendly, united and fruitful event to help the SCO enter a new stage of more unity, more cooperation, more vitality, more action, and high-quality development, and promote the building of a closer SCO destiny community, and make greater contributions to the building of a community of human destiny!

Source: China News Network