China's Xi calls for universal security at SCO summit
Xi Jinping addresses Shanghai Cooperation Organization Council of Heads of State summit in Bishkek
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) should prioritize security and “foster an environment of universal security,” Chinese President Xi Jinping told the bloc’s leaders at a summit in the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek, on Tuesday.
Stressing that the SCO should uphold dialogue and consultation, Xi called on the grouping to “improve governance in a fair and orderly manner,” according to state-run Xinhua News.
Bishkek is hosting a two-day summit of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO, a Eurasian bloc, that began Monday, marking the 25th anniversary of the grouping.
Xi's statement came amid the Russia-Ukraine war, the US war with Iran and the ongoing Israeli genocide in the Palestinian enclave of Gaza.
In addition to Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev are attending the summit. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are also attending.
“China sees the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a priority area for high-quality joint construction of the Belt and Road and implementation of the Global Development Initiative,” Xi said.
He said China is ready to help build the SCO into an “important platform for implementing the Global Security Initiative.”
China is also willing to work with all parties to implement the Global Civilization Initiative, and supports the SCO in pursuing exemplary cooperation to implement the Global Governance Initiative, Xi added.
Emphasizing that the grouping should “lay a solid foundation for friendship across generations" and "usher in a future of shared prosperity," Xi announced that Beijing will establish a China-SCO basic education cooperation center.
