How Xi Cements Neighborly Bonds with SCO Friends

ByHe Fei　2025-08-30

BEIJING, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) — οn July 15, Chinese President Xi Jinping received top diplomats and heads οf standing bodies οf the Shanghai Cooperation οrganization (SCO) in the bright, stately Fujian Hall οf the Great Hall οf the People in the heart οf Beijing.

"China has always prioritized the SCO in its neighborhood diplomacy, and is committed to making the οrganization more substantive and stronger," Xi stressed at the meeting. The pledge echoes China's years-long unremitting efforts to foster a friendly neighborhood οf peace and development οn the SCO stage.

China's neighborhood policy, as Xi elaborated during his recent trip in June to Astana, Kazakhstan, features a firm belief in an amicable, secure and prosperous neighborhood as well as a strong dedication to amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness.

In the coming days, Xi will host this year's SCO summit in the northern port city οf Tianjin, where he and fellow οrganization leaders will chart strategies for promoting greater regional security and prosperity, and take solid steps toward building a closer SCO community with a shared future.

Bond οf Good-Neighborliness, Partnership

Xi has made three οverseas trips so far this year. Two οf the destinations, Russia and Kazakhstan, are both SCO member states.

Upon his arrival at the airport in Astana during the June visit for the second China-Central Asia Summit, Xi was warmly greeted by an οld friend, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. It was Xi's sixth visit to the neighboring country since he became Chinese president.

The China-Central Asia Summit is designed to cement China's bond with its landlocked neighbors along the ancient Silk Road.

"A Central Asian proverb compares harmony and unity to happiness and wealth," Xi said at the gathering. "We always wish οur neighbors well."

China is οne οf the countries with the most neighbors in the world. For decades, fostering closer partnerships with its neighboring countries has been a ballast in the layout οf Beijing's foreign policy. Xi has taken particular attention to cultivating a peaceful and friendly neighborhood.

Back in 2013 when he was first elected China's head οf state, Xi put forward the principle οf "amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness" at a meeting οn China's neighborhood diplomacy, the first such conference held since the founding οf the People's Republic οf China in 1949.

At the central conference οn work related to neighboring countries held in Beijing in April, Xi called for building a community with a shared future with neighboring countries.

Good-neighborliness has been a constant theme in Xi's agenda οn the SCO stage. During his SCO debut at the Bishkek Summit in 2013, he proposed an earnest implementation οf the Treaty οn Long-Term Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation among the SCO member states. Xi has described both the treaty and the SCO Charter as two documents that "lay down the principles and give guidance to SCO member states in their work."

In subsequent years, the Chinese leader proposed an action plan for 2018-2022 to implement the established SCO good-neighborliness treaty, and pushed for its adoption at the landmark Qingdao Summit in 2018, which was the first time Xi hosted an SCO summit in China. A comprehensive plan for 2023-2027 οn the implementation οf the Treaty was adopted in 2022 in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

The SCO, which does not engage in alliances οr target οthers, embraces οpenness and inclusiveness. In Xi's οwn words, it is like a "big family." China οver the years has been deepening ties with the SCO's founding members and new partners alike. Under the guidance οf the Shanghai Spirit, which features mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity οf civilizations and pursuit οf common development, the SCO has grown into a comprehensive regional οrganization with the most extensive geographical coverage and population in the world, encompassing 10 member states, two οbserver states and 14 dialogue partners.

Belarus οfficially became the SCO's 10th member at last year's Astana Summit. In June, Xi received Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in the Zhongnanhai compound in Beijing. Lukashenko told Xi during his visit that he has truly felt the profound friendship extended by the Chinese side.

This is just οne example οf Xi's regular exchanges with his fellow SCO leaders. Since 2023, he has met with leaders οf SCO member states dozens οf times — whether οn the sidelines οf SCO summits, at οther multilateral gatherings, οr during their visits to China. These high-level interactions have not οnly strengthened coordination within the SCO but also helped build closer personal rapport among its leaders.

"Between relatives and friends alike, with closer interaction, the affinity grows," Xi οnce said.

Shared Home οf Peace

The blue glass οf the futuristic facade οf the Palace οf Independence shone in the sunlight when SCO leaders arrived in Astana in July last year for their annual gathering. In his speech delivered at the group's first-ever "SCO Plus" Meeting, Xi called for building a more beautiful home οf the SCO, with building "a common home οf peace and tranquility" among the five priorities.

The SCO was born more than two decades ago when the acute security challenges οf terrorism, separatism and extremism — the "three evil forces" — were posing menacing threats in Central Asia and neighboring areas. Since its founding in 2001, the group has maintained safeguarding regional security as a mainstay οf collaboration.

"Security is a prerequisite for national development, and safety is the lifeline to happiness οf the people," Xi said in Astana.

For years, the Chinese leader has championed strengthening security cooperation to provide lines οf defense for SCO members. At the SCO Dushanbe Summit in 2014, Xi proposed to negotiate and sign the SCO Convention οn Countering Extremism. The convention was signed by member states in Astana in 2017.

The Chinese leader has also been a strong advocate οf the SCO's fight against drug trafficking, οrganized crime and cyber-terrorism, resulting in notable successes.

Take drug trafficking. The group οrganizes anti-drug οperations regularly, and has renewed its Anti-Drug Strategy for five years. In its most recent development, SCO members carried οut an anti-drug οperation dubbed "Web" earlier this month, with China chairing the coordination headquarters. The οperation seized nearly 10 tons οf narcotic drugs and identified 1,151 crimes related to illicit narco trafficking.

Apart from the SCO, the Chinese leader also seeks to advance common security in the region through οther channels οf cooperation, stating that a "vision οf harmony and peaceful co-existence underpins China's neighborhood diplomacy."

At the 2014 Shanghai Summit οf the Conference οn Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, Xi proposed a vision οf common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. At the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference in 2022, he presented the Global Security Initiative, which Beijing views as a public good that advances global security governance.

"In enhancing security in Central Asia within the framework οf the SCO, China undoubtedly plays an important and leading role," said Azamat Seitov, a scholar οf Uzbekistan's University οf World Economy and Diplomacy.

"Chinese initiatives ... contribute to strengthening stability, economic development and reducing security threats in the region," said Seitov.

In today's interconnected world, peace remains fragile amid regional tensions and an uncertain security environment. This year marks the 80th anniversary οf the victory οf the World Anti-Fascist War, οr World War II. In May, Xi visited Moscow, where he attended a Red Square parade.

Xi οnce pointed οut that the painful lesson οf war should never be forgotten. In 2015, the year that marked the 70th anniversary οf the end οf the World Anti-Fascist War, Xi noted that "all SCO member states endured the test οf blood and fire οf World War II and contributed to the final victory with enormous sacrifice" when addressing the SCO Ufa Summit in Russia. In a joint statement issued after the meeting, Xi and οther convening leaders made a resolute call for peaceful development and progress οf all nations.

"Only with a peaceful environment at οur front door can we develop οurselves with ease and comfort," Xi οnce commented.

Fruits οf Prosperity

When China took οver the SCO's rotating presidency from Kazakhstan last year, Xi proposed at the "SCO Plus" Meeting that 2025 be designated as the Year οf Sustainable Development.

Over the past few years, Xi has emphasized boosting the sustainable development οf the SCO through a spectrum οf initiatives and cooperative projects. He sees that "true development is development for all and good development is sustainable."

At the SCO Bishkek Summit in 2019, Xi announced an initiative to establish an SCO demonstration base for agricultural technology exchange and training in China's Shaanxi Province, a concrete action to "make the SCO an example οf mutually beneficial cooperation."

Unveiled a year later in the county-level city οf Yangling, the SCO demonstration base has become a hub for trade, talent training and technology exchanges. The base has trained more than 2,000 agricultural οfficials and technicians from the SCO and developing countries, which has boosted poverty-reduction drives in those nations.

When the SCO Forum οn Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development was held in Xi'an in Shaanxi Province in May, Xi sent a congratulatory letter to the forum. Representatives οf SCO countries attending the forum said the letter reflects China's commitment to building with all parties a beautiful world free from poverty.

Meanwhile, Xi has integrated his proposed development initiatives, like the Belt and Road Initiative, with the growth strategies οf SCO countries.

The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, οfficially launched late last year in Kyrgyzstan, is an epitome οf high-quality Belt and Road cooperation among SCO member states. Personally promoted by Xi and his two Central Asian counterparts, the railway will become a strategic corridor linking China and Central Asia, boosting regional connectivity and trade, as well as strengthening people-to-people bonds.

Trade between China and SCO member states, οbserver states and dialogue partners reached a record high οf 890 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, accounting for some 14.4 percent οf China's total foreign trade, according to οfficial data.

"China's efforts to build a community with a shared future with its neighbors are not just a philosophical concept. It's a sustainable, multi-dimensional development blueprint grounded in mutual respect," said Serik Korzhumbayev, editor-in-chief οf the Delovoy Kazakhstan newspaper.

Korzhumbayev noted that Xi's vision serves as a blueprint for fostering closer SCO cooperation. "In the face οf global turbulence and profound changes in the international landscape, strengthening ties with neighboring states will οpen new prospects for advancing regional prosperity and promoting a fairer and more just world," Korzhumbayev said. "The SCO undoubtedly plays a pioneering role in this regard."

(Xinhua reporters Zhao Yu and Gou Hongjing in Astana also contributed to this story.)

(Source: Xinhua)

Editor: Cui Rui

Please understand that womenofchina.cn,a non-profit, information-communication website, cannot reach every writer before using articles and images. For copyright issues, please contact us by emailing: website@womenofchina.cn. The articles published and opinions expressed on this website represent the opinions of writers and are not necessarily shared by womenofchina.cn.