China's commerce ministry said Tuesday that leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states issued their first-ever statement supporting the multilateral trading system, underscoring the SCO's unwavering resolve to safeguard the stability of the global trade order.
The statement was released on Monday during the SCO Tianjin Summit. Describing it as "high-level," a senior official of the Ministry of Commerce noted that this marks the first time SCO leaders have jointly issued a statement endorsing the multilateral trading system.
"The statement is well-timed," the official added. Against the backdrop of a recent framework deal on so-called "reciprocal tariffs" by some WTO members, SCO member states have reaffirmed core WTO principles, such as most-favored-nation treatment and non-discrimination, and urged all parties to uphold international trade law, including WTO rules.
"The statement is development-focused," the official said, noting that it pledges to help developing members achieve industrialization, extends support to least-developed countries in integrating more effectively into the multilateral trading system, and expects concrete outcomes from the WTO's 14th ministerial conference in 2026.
The official also added that, moving forward, China will deepen communication and cooperation with other SCO member states, actively promote genuine multilateralism, steer WTO reform in the right direction, protect the legitimate interests of developing members, and contribute to building an open global economy.
SCO members issue statement supporting multilateral trading system at 2025 summit
China continued to make headway in environmental protection throughout 2025, with notable improvements in both air quality and surface water conditions, according to the latest data released by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment.
According to the Ministry, the average concentration of PM2.5 in 339 cities at the prefectural level and above stood at 28.0 micrograms per cubic meter, marking a year-on-year decrease of 4.4 percent.
Meanwhile, the average PM10 concentration reached 48 micrograms per cubic meter, down by 2.0 percent compared to the previous year.
Excluding days affected by exceptional sand and dust weather, the average proportion of days with good air quality was 89.3 percent, an increase of 1.9 percentage points from 2024.
In terms of surface water quality, monitoring data showed further improvement nationwide.
Among 3,641 state-monitored surface water sections, 91.4 percent were rated as good quality (Grade I-III), up by 1.0 percentage point year-on-year.
The proportion of sections with inferior quality (below Grade V, the lowest level in China's five-tier water quality rating system) remained stable at 0.6 percent.
Key river basins, including the Yangtze River, Yellow River, Pearl River, Songhua River, Huaihe River, Haihe River, and Liaohe River, as well as rivers in northwestern and southwestern regions and those in east China's provinces of Zhejiang and Fujian, recorded good-quality water in 93.0 percent of monitored sections, an improvement of 0.6 percentage points.
The below-Grade V proportion in these basins was 0.4 percent, a slight increase of 0.1 percentage points.
Among 209 key lakes and reservoirs under observation, 78.5 percent attained good water quality, representing a rise of 1.4 percentage points from the previous year. The share of those with inferior water quality dropped by 1.0 percentage points to 3.3 percent.
China reports steady improvement in air, water quality for 2025
