Experts: Xi proposal key for better SCO development, global governance

Chinese President Xi Jinping's speeches at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit charted a blueprint for the organization's pursuit of higher quality development and offered key guidance for better global governance, according to experts.

In his speeches at the 26th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO and the "SCO Plus" meeting in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek on Tuesday, Xi said that China is ready to work with all parties to continue to strive for higher quality development and make the global governance system more just and equitable.

Read more: Full text: President Xi Jinping's speech at 26th SCO Council of Heads of State meeting Full text of Xi Jinping's speech at 'SCO Plus' meeting Towards the higher quality development of the organization, the Chinese president put forward a four-point proposal: putting development first and opening up the prospects for shared prosperity; taking security as a key goal and fostering an environment of common security; adhering to a people-centered approach and cementing the foundation for everlasting friendship; and committing to dialogue and consultation and striving for more equitable and orderly governance.

In alignment with China's four global initiatives on development, security, civilization and governance, the four points serve as a clear roadmap for the SCO to translate those initiatives into concrete action, experts said.

Farhat Asif, president of the Institute of Peace and Diplomatic Studies in Pakistan, said Xi integrated the four major global initiatives into the SCO development strategy for the next decade, adopted at the Tianjin summit last year, thus putting in place a systematic framework that enables the SCO to achieve higher quality development.

Xi announced on Tuesday that China will develop an international artificial intelligence (AI) application cooperation center with fellow SCO countries, establish a China-SCO port economic cooperation center in Tianjin, and implement 100 technological cooperation projects with other SCO countries in the next three years, among others.

Kanat Beisek, president of the Kazakhstan-China Trade Promotion Association, said the new measures unveiled by Xi will help drive the integration of industrial, supply and value chains across the SCO countries.

They will also expand cooperation in emerging fields such as AI, digital economy, green industries and green minerals, enabling the organization to further diversify cooperation and galvanize new development momentum, Beisek said.