Daily Times

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday stressed for efforts to better synergize high-quality cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) with various countries’ development strategies and regional cooperation initiatives.

Addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit via video link, he called on members of the SCO family to follow the right direction and enhance their solidarity and mutual trust.

He stressed for strengthening exchanges and mutual learning among countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and fostering closer people-to-people ties.

President Xi said that the harmonious development of diverse civilizations was the vision shared by the people in the region. While calling upon members of SCO to safeguard regional peace and ensure common security, he said that China was willing to work with all parties to implement the Global Security Initiative, adhere to dialogue and consultation to resolve differences, promote political settlement of international and regional issues and jointly build a shelter for regional security.

President Xi also called for advancing pragmatic cooperation to speed up economic recovery and said that China was willing to work with all parties to implement the Global Development Initiative and adhere to the correct direction of economic globalization.

He urged efforts to oppose protectionism, unilateral sanctions and using national security as a tool for economic coercion, reject attempts to “build walls”, decouple or disrupt industrial and supply chains, and strive to make a bigger “pie” of mutually beneficial cooperation.

Efforts should be made to promote synergies between the Belt and Road Initiative and development strategies of various countries, promote trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, accelerate the construction of port infrastructure and regional international logistics corridors and ensure the stability and smoothness of regional industrial chains and supply chains, Xi said.

Noting harmonious development of diverse civilizations is the vision of the people of countries in the region, President Xi said China welcomed all parties to implement the Global Civilization Initiative, promote the coexistence of different civilizations and strengthen people-to-people bonds.

He said that the trend of peace, development and win-win cooperation was unstoppable and underlined the need for SCO countries to strengthen strategic communication and collaboration, advocate dialogue to address differences and promote cooperation to avoid competition. President Xi also called for respecting each other’s core interests and firmly supporting each other in achieving development and revitalization.

President Xi said we must rise to the call of our times, keep in mind our founding mission, and stay in unity and coordination to bring more certainty and positive energy to world peace and development. To this end, I wish to make the following proposals:

First, we should keep to the right direction and enhance solidarity and mutual trust. Since its founding over 20 years ago, the SCO has withstood the test of the changing international landscape, and kept moving in the right direction of promoting solidarity, mutual trust, development and cooperation. We have accumulated valuable experience, and achieved hard-won development gains. Facts have shown that as long as we bear in mind the larger picture, shoulder our responsibilities and remain undisturbed by all sorts of distractions, we will be able to protect and promote the security and development interests of our member states. Second, we should maintain regional peace and safeguard common security. Sustaining peace and security in this region is our common responsibility. China stands ready to work with all sides to implement the Global Security Initiative, promote the settlement of international disputes through dialogue and consultation, and encourage political settlement of international and regional hotspots, so as to forge a solid security shield in our region.

Third, we should focus on practical cooperation and expedite economic recovery. Promoting economic growth is a common task for all countries in the region. China stands ready to work with all sides to implement the Global Development Initiative, keep to the right direction of economic globalization, oppose protectionism, unilateral sanctions and the overstretching of national security, and reject the moves of setting up barriers, decoupling and severing supply chains. We should make the pie of win-win cooperation bigger, and ensure that more development gains will be shared more fairly by people across the world.

Fourth, we should strengthen exchanges and mutual learning and forge closer bonds between our peoples. All nations in the region aspire to see harmonious development of different civilizations. We welcome all sides to work together to implement the Global Civilization Initiative, promote inclusiveness and coexistence among all civilizations, and increase mutual understanding and friendship among all nations. Fifth, we should practice multilateralism and improve global governance. All countries in the region pursue fairness and justice. We should advocate the common values of humanity, uphold the UN-centered international system and the international order based on international law, and oppose hegemonism and power politics. We should make global governance more just and equitable, and advance modernization of the entire humanity through collective efforts to promote equal rights, equal opportunities and fair rules for all. We should support more SCO engagements with observer states, dialogue partners and other regional and international organizations such as the UN, and jointly promote world peace, drive global development and safeguard the international order.

The Chinese people are rallied behind the Communist Party of China to pursue Chinese modernization. It is the modernization of a huge population, of common prosperity for all, of material and cultural-ethical advancement, of harmony between humanity and nature, and of peaceful development. With these main attributes, it has created a new form of human advancement. China hopes to share new development opportunities with SCO members and all countries around the world through its achievements in modernization, and together make the world a better place.