The 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, running from Sunday to Monday, is expected to push the organization to stride towards the goal of building a closer community with a shared future.
Leaders from Asia, Europe and Africa will gather in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin for the largest-ever SCO summit in history, charting the blueprint for the bloc's next decade of development.
When attending the first "SCO Plus" Meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan in 2024, Xi put forward the important initiative of building a common home of solidarity and mutual trust, peace and tranquility, prosperity and development, good-neighborliness and friendship, and fairness and justice, charting a new blueprint for the organization's development.
"Chinese President Xi Jinping, whom I admire and respect very much, once quoted an ancient sayings 'When people are of one mind, they can move Mount Tai.' And 'No mountain or ocean can distance people who have shared aspirations.' [The 'Shanghai Spirit'] ensures that there is no distinction between large and small countries within the SCO, and all member states are treated equally. Another point that I think the SCO is attractive is that it's a completely peaceful and constructive organization. It's not against any country, it's not a military alliance, and it aimed not at confrontation but at promoting development, maintaining peace, and enhancing mutual trust," said Nurlan Yermekbayev, SCO secretary-general.
What began as a regional security grouping has evolved into a regional organization encompassing nearly half of the world's population, a quarter of the global landmass and a quarter of global GDP.
With the accession of India, Pakistan, Iran and Belarus, the SCO now has 10 member states, alongside two observer states and 14 dialogue partners.
"The SCO is like a magnet, attracting all parties with its rich achievements. We will strengthen the SCO vision in international relations. The SCO, especially under the chairmanship of China, has been an irreplaceable platform for integrating the positions of its member states, including those that joined in recent years," said Sergei Ryabkov, deputy foreign minister of Russia.
Since taking over the rotating presidency of the SCO in July last year, China has been actively practicing the slogan of China's SCO presidency "Upholding the Shanghai Spirit: SCO on the Move," and has successfully held more than 100 activities.
"During China's presidency, President Xi Jinping sent congratulatory letters to the Green Development Forum of SCO Countries, the SCO Women's Forum, and the SCO Forum on Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development, fully demonstrating President Xi Jinping's high attention and earnest expectations for SCO countries to deepen mutual learning and exchanges, friendly cooperation, and build a SCO community with a shared future," said Zuo Hongbo, secretary general of the Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation Commission of the SCO.
Dedicated to maintaining regional security and promoting common development, the SCO adheres to the Shanghai Spirit, which features mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diverse civilizations and pursuit of common development.
This spirit has guided the bloc to chart a path of regional cooperation, transcending differences in ideology, social system and development path, and setting an example for a new type of international relations.
2025 SCO Summit to steer toward closer community of shared future
