Never forget your original intention and forge ahead, holding high the banner of "Shanghai Spirit" for development | Shanghai Cooperation Organization | Shanghai
Xi Jinping: Let us hold high the banner of the "Shanghai Spirit", not forget our original aspirations, forge ahead, and follow the right path of building a community with a shared future for mankind, and start a new journey for the development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization!
This passage comes from the speech delivered by President Xi Jinping when he attended the 21st meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization on September 17, 2021.
The Shanghai Spirit is the core value and action guide of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, which has been continuously enriched and improved over the past 20 years, enabling SCO countries to effectively respond to various risks and challenges, and achieve sustainable and stable development.The Shanghai Spirit and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization's concept of a community with a shared future for mankind are in line, providing targeted solutions to solve the challenges of the times, encouraging the Shanghai Cooperation Organization to assume greater responsibility in global and regional affairs, and contributing to the establishment of a just and reasonable new international political and economic order.
Currently, unilateralism and protectionism are on the rise, the global governance system is further imbalanced, economic recovery is becoming more unstable, and the international landscape is undergoing complex and profound changes. In this context, China, as an active practitioner of the "Shanghai Spirit" and an important promoter of the development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, has taken practical actions to help the "Shanghai Spirit" of "mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diverse civilizations, and pursuit of common development" take root. From diplomacy to economy and trade, from security to environmental protection, from technology to agriculture, China has added momentum to the strong SCO mechanism in various forms and fields. For example, since announcing its construction five years ago, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Zone has continuously promoted connectivity and innovative cooperation models, and its trade volume with SCO countries has increased from 850 million yuan in 2019 to 8.1 billion yuan in 2022. SCO countries actively utilize important exhibitions such as the China International Import Expo, the China International Fair for Trade in Services, and the Canton Fair, as well as platforms such as the National Online New Year Goods Festival, to promote local high-quality and distinctive products, and trade cooperation between countries is becoming increasingly close. Moreover, the "the Belt and Road" initiative proposed by China has been deeply integrated with the development concept of SCO, and remarkable achievements have been made in the construction of connectivity between Asia and Europe. The construction of the China Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan railway has been accelerated. The China Central Asia natural gas pipeline and the China Kazakhstan and China Russia crude oil pipelines have been completed and put into operation. The first China EU commercial train, the "Shanghai Hefei Express", has been sent out from the multimodal transport center of the Shanghai Cooperation Demonstration Area, and a variety of goods have been continuously transported to countries along the line.
The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out the need to expand the influence of cooperation mechanisms such as the BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and enhance the representation and voice of emerging market countries and developing countries in global affairs. Faced with the accelerated evolution of the world's unprecedented changes in a century, all member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization should hold high the banner of the "Shanghai Spirit", enhance mutual trust and benefit, jointly face challenges, strive to achieve their own economic development, promote mutual understanding and kinship among people of all countries, continue to follow the human path of building a community with a shared future for mankind, follow the trend of peace, development, cooperation, and win-win, embark on a new journey of development for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and promote the construction of a better world.
Special expert for this issue: Li Tianyi, China Shanghai Cooperation Organization Research Center