Xi Jinping's presence should strengthen the SCO

President Xi Jinping's attendance at the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, is part of a major diplomatic move by Beijing toward its neighbors and will provide a strong boost to the building of the SCO community with a shared future, analysts said.

From Tuesday to Saturday, Xi will attend the 24th meeting of the SCO Heads of State Council and pay state visits to Kazakhstan and Tajikistan, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua said on Sunday. Chunying.

Xi Jinping has attended the SCO summit for 11 consecutive years since 2013 and delivered speeches at each meeting in a face-to-face or virtual format.

He frequently stressed the need to perpetuate the “Shanghai spirit,” a group principle characterized by mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for cultural diversity and the pursuit of common development.

In addition, Xi presented Chinese initiatives aimed at strengthening solidarity and cooperation within the organization during the meetings. For example, at last year's summit, hosted by India, he announced that his country would conduct digital technology training programs in collaboration with the China-SCO Big Data Cooperation Center and organize a national forum of green development of the SCO.

The upcoming visit is “another major diplomatic move by China towards Central Asian countries” and the Eurasian region, Xinhua news agency reported on Sunday.

Sun Zhuangzhi, director of the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Xi's visit will further enhance the capacity of the SCO to work together in the same boat, to promote quality and improvement of cooperation in many areas, including economy, security and culture, and to “inject more positivity into peace and development of the world “.

At the Astana summit, leaders of member states will discuss a wide range of topics such as politics, trade, economics and culture. Leaders of observer states and dialogue partner countries will also be present, according to the Kazakh government.

The summit will see the signing of a series of documents, including the SCO development strategy until 2035, Kazakh officials said.

In the 23 years since its founding, the SCO has made remarkable progress in maintaining regional security and stability, deepening practical cooperation in various fields, and increasing its influence and of its international appeal, analysts said.

SCO Secretary-General Zhang Ming suggested that member states continue to carry forward the “Shanghai spirit” and advance the implementation of the organization's teamwork in various fields.

While attending a forum in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, last month, Zhang also called for strengthened reform and improvement of the organization's work to ensure that SCO cooperation “follows the rhythm of its time and reaches new heights.

Guan Xueling, director of the Center for Russian Studies at Renmin University of China-St. Petersburg State University, said the Astana summit would demonstrate the organization's growing influence and international status.

Topics will include plans for the further development of the SCO, how to better synergize the Belt and Road Initiative with the development visions of other member countries and how to truly realize the strategic autonomy of the Global South, Guan said at a recent seminar in Beijing.

“Given the mitigation of international unrest, crises and the global governance deficit, the SCO has become a very important actor in maintaining security and stability in the region and in promoting development and prosperity,” she added.

Zhao Huirong, a researcher at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said the SCO faces a number of opportunities as well. than multiple challenges.

“Opportunities include the fact that the SCO is favored by a growing number of developing countries because of its commitment to the 'Shanghai Spirit' amid ongoing geopolitical confrontations around the world,” she said.

At the same time, the SCO is facing a much more complex geopolitical environment, a more difficult regional and international security context and a number of alarming areas related to unconventional security, she added.

Vladimir Norov, former secretary general of the SCO and former foreign minister of Uzbekistan, said the organization's spirit of solidarity, mutual trust and collaboration is “especially valuable in today's world 'today'.

“The SCO must continue to cooperate in this spirit in combating the three evil forces (separatism, extremism and terrorism), in combating climate change, in responding to cyberattacks and in ensuring the security of artificial intelligence,” he told the 21st Century Business Herald.

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