The following insights are based on the remarks by Ambassador Qi Zhenhong at the SCO Thematic Dialogue held recently at the Embassy of China in Colombo. — Editors
From August 31 to September 1, China will host the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tianjin. Leaders from over 20 countries, including Russia and India, and heads of 10 international organizations will gather in China for the summit. It will be the largest summit since the establishment of the SCO and will attract global attention.
Twenty-four years ago, China, Russia and four other countries jointly made the historic decision to establish the SCO in response to the trend of peace and development and the strong aspiration of the people in the region for stability, prosperity, and deeper exchanges and cooperation. In 2009, Sri Lanka joined as a dialogue partner. The SCO now comprises 10 member states, including China, Russia, and India, as well as two observer states and 14 dialogue partners, encompassing nearly half the world’s population and 60% of the Eurasian continent. In 2024, trade between China and SCO member states, observer states, and dialogue partners reached a record-breaking 890 billion US dollars, demonstrating the strong vitality and the promising future of the SCO. The SCO is playing an increasingly important role in maintaining peace and development in the region and beyond.
The SCO’s continued growth and development is due to the continuous promotion of the “Shanghai Spirit” which features mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diverse civilizations, and the pursuit of common development. These core tenets of the Shanghai Spirits represent the most scarce values in international cooperation today. Amid the current turbulent international landscape and against the backdrop of increasing pressure on multilateral mechanisms, the SCO has spoken up to uphold justice on major international and regional issues, firmly upheld the multilateral trading system, and strongly condemned the abuse of force. These strong messages, delivered in support of fairness and justice, have been highly praised and fully recognized by the international community.
Since China took over the SCO rotating chairmanship in July last year, China has acted on the slogan “Upholding the Shanghai Spirit: SCO on the Move”. Guided by President Xi Jinping’s vision of jointly building a common home of the SCO featuring solidarity and mutual trust, peace and tranquility, prosperity and development, good-neighborliness and friendship, and fairness and justice, China has hosted over 100 events as the SCO chair, covering multiple areas such as politics, security, economy and trade, energy, green industry, digital economy and people-to-people exchanges. China has also advanced reform and innovation in the SCO’s deliberation mechanism and cooperation pattern, accelerated the consultations regarding the establishment of a comprehensive center for dealing with security threats and challenges, an information security center, a center for fighting transnational organized crime and a counternarcotics center. China has strengthened cooperation on law enforcement and security, and built a new paradigm for regional security cooperation. These efforts have been highly recognized by members of the SCO family and have injected strong impetus into the SCO’s steady and long-term development.
Without political barriers or coercion, the SCO aims to promote truly equal, mutually beneficial, and sustainable cooperative relations. China and Sri Lanka, both important members of the Global South, have maintained close coordination and are committed to promoting unity and revitalization in the Global South. Sri Lanka has actively participated in bilateral and multilateral cooperation within the SCO framework, and has reaped substantial benefits from its engagement with the SCO. Sri Lankan statesmen, experts, think tank members, and media representatives have frequently attended various SCO events including the regular conference of expert group on implementing the SCO roadmap for gradually increasing the share of national currencies in mutual settlements, the Green Development Forum of SCO Countries, the SCO Military Medicine Seminar, the SCO Forum on Traditional Medicine, and the SCO Year of Ecology Forum, contributing their wisdom and strength to the development of the SCO.
Earlier this year, President Xi Jinping, in a meeting with President Dissanayake, reiterated the need to approach China–Sri Lanka relations from a strategic perspective and jointly build a community with a shared future for China and Sri Lanka. This has charted the course and provided strategic guidance for our bilateral relations. We sincerely look forward to you, think tank and media friends present here, actively sharing your voices in various forms. Through your vivid storytelling of win-win cooperation under the framework of the SCO, we hope you can write more moving chapters of the high-quality development of China-Sri Lanka friendship in the new era!
