The annual Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit has begun in Tianjin, China. Leaders from 21 countries and more than 10 international organizations are participating. During the event, key documents of the member states are expected to be adopted, including the organization’s development strategy for the next 10 years.
The President of the People’s Republic of China expressed confidence that, with the coordinated efforts of all parties, the current summit will be fully successful, that the SCO will continue to play an even more significant role, achieve further development, and make a greater contribution to the cohesion and cooperation of its member states, the unity of the Global South, and the advancement of human civilization.
China will fully support Kyrgyzstan’s growing role in international and regional affairs and is ready to jointly uphold a UN-centered international system to make a new contribution to global peace and development, President Xi Jinping stated during a meeting with Kyrgyzstan’s President Sadyr Japarov in the port city of Tianjin in northern China. During the meeting, bilateral agreements were signed on cooperation in transport connectivity, human resources, civil aviation, and regional development.
Ahead of the SCO Summit, China and India outlined new prospects for improving their relations. Xi Jinping stated that China and India should become good-neighborly, friendly partners who contribute to each other’s success. “The joint pas de deux of the Dragon and the Elephant” should be the right choice for the two countries, he added. Noting that this year marks the 75th anniversary of China–India diplomatic relations, Xi Jinping emphasized that both countries need to view and manage their bilateral relations from a strategic and long-term perspective.
China’s trade with other Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states reached approximately USD 512.4 billion in 2024, a 2.7% increase year-on-year, Deputy Minister of Commerce of China Ling Ji said at a press conference ahead of the SCO Summit. According to him, last year China imported crude oil, natural gas, and coal worth about USD 90 billion from other SCO member states, as well as agricultural products totaling USD 13.66 billion.
Lin Ji noted that in 2024, energy imports from other SCO countries made up roughly one-fifth of China’s total imports.
Zhang Li, Director of the Ministry of Commerce’s Department of Foreign Investment and Economic Cooperation, added that investment and industrial cooperation with SCO member states has steadily developed in recent years.
Zhang Li added that in recent years, Chinese companies have established more than 3,000 enterprises in other SCO countries, creating an average of over 200,000 jobs per year.
Over its 24 years of existence, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, originally created to address security issues, has evolved into a comprehensive regional organization representing nearly half of the world’s population.
