The advanced concepts and peaceful nature of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) have promoted its membership expansion, with more countries joining in the future, said a Chinese expert on international relations recently.
The SCO was established in Shanghai in 2001 by China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. India and Pakistan joined as full members in 2017.
Now, SCO members cover a quarter of the world's land area, and their combined population accounts for nearly half of the world.
In 2021, the total volume of the economies of the SCO member states was about 23.3 trillion U.S. dollars, accounting for nearly a quarter of the global GDP, more than 13 times larger than when it was established. Cooperation in various fields under the SCO framework has created a stable development environment for all parties, and has also achieved fruitful results in the economic and cultural fields.
"The Shanghai Spirit featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diverse civilizations and pursuit of common development is the soul as well as the core competitiveness of the SCO. The SCO is the first international organization with a clear definition on terrorism and extremism. It has made its own exploration in the concept and action to eliminate terrorism. The SCO has built a big family that every member recognizes each other. This is a great achievement that is commendable," said Li Ziguo, director of Eurasian Research at the China Institute of International Studies (CIIS).
"In 2018, China's proposals to build new model of international relations featuring mutual respect, equality, justice and win-win cooperation and to build a community with a shared future for mankind were written into the SCO document. We have also established the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area in Qingdao including the establishment of a SCO multimodal transportation center. These are some of the important carriers that China provides for the pragmatic cooperation in various fields between SCO members," said Li.
In addition to advancing the procedure of Iran's accession during the upcoming SCO Summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, the process of accepting Belarus is expected to start, as well as granting relevant countries the status of dialog partners.
"The SCO has been developing internal cooperation and seeking common development for so many years. This advanced concept, its peaceful nature, and the apparent results it has achieved during practice have exerted profound attraction on these countries. We also hope that the SCO, as a global governance platform and with China as a member, can make its due contribution to the whole world," said Li.
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