Xi urges SCO to steer history, sets four priorities
Crhk · 2 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago3 MIN
Summary
Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the 26th meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation in Bishkek on Tuesday, saying the bloc stands at a crossroads affecting humanity’s future and should actively help shape the course of history. He proposed four priorities covering development, security, people-centred cooperation and dialogue, while China announced new initiatives in trade, education and technology cooperation with SCO countries.
Key Points
- Xi spoke in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, at the 26th meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State on September 1.
- He said the world’s once-in-a-century changes are accelerating, with sharp competition between dialogue and confrontation, win-win and zero-sum, and multilateralism and unilateralism
- Xi’s four proposals were to prioritise development, put security first, stay people-centred, and uphold dialogue and consultation in regional governance.
- On development, he called for inclusive economic globalisation, stronger cooperation in trade, investment, connectivity and energy, and expansion into AI, the digital economy, green industries and green minerals.
- China said it will set up a China-SCO Port Economic Cooperation Centre in Tianjin, create a China-SCO Basic Education Cooperation Centre, and jointly implement 100 science and technology projects over the next three years
- On security, Xi called for coordinated responses to traditional and non-traditional threats, including the “three forces”, transnational organised crime, drug trafficking and telecom fraud, while guarding against outside interference in domestic affairs.
- Xi also urged broader people-to-people exchanges through cooperation networks and said China would continue using Confucius Institutes and Luban Workshops to deepen mutual understanding.
- Participating leaders endorsed the SCO’s development achievements, agreed to advance the strategic plans set at last year’s Tianjin summit, issued the Bishkek Declaration, adopted 28 outcome documents, and decided Pakistan will assume the rotating chair next year
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong readers, the speech points to where Beijing wants regional cooperation to deepen next: trade links, technology projects, education exchanges and security coordination across the SCO space. The emphasis on multilateral coordination and new cooperation platforms also indicates the channels China is prioritising as it responds to a more contested international environment.