SCO enjoys rising international status: China

[Lankan Ranger]

SCO enjoys rising international status: China

Withstanding various tests and challenges during the past 10 years, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has started to enjoy thriving cooperation and rising international status, said Chinese ambassador to Russia Li Hui.

China will go on making joint efforts with other SCO members to contribute more to regional and world peace and development, Li said in an interview with Xinhua on the eve of the 10th SCO prime ministers meeting, which will begin on Sunday in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Li believes the SCO has become an indispensable constructive regional force, which has gained rich experience in maintaining regional security and stability, promoting prosperity in member states, and developing international relations.

He noted that more and more countries want to enhance their relations with the SCO and a growing number of international organizations hope to establish ties with it.

The SCO, founded in Shanghai on June 15, 2001, groups China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Currently, India, Iran, Mongolia and Pakistan are SCO observer states while Sri Lanka and Belarus are dialogue partners.

Li said the practical cooperation among SCO member states has seen progress and important achievements, including the improvement of SCO legal basis and cooperation mechanism, the launch of several big-scale regional economic and technical joint projects.

With the gradual deepening of economic cooperation, he added, SCO member countries would benefit more from the cohesion, which should be further strengthened and help the members to stand future global economic changes.

Li also noted that the SCO members, facing profound changes in the regional and global landscape, should continue to uphold the Shanghai Spirit and boost cooperation in various fields.

The ambassador said the Chinese government will continue to firmly promote political, security, trade and cultural exchanges within the SCO framework.

"China and other SCO members withstood tests of complex circumstances. During the cooperation we always insist equal consultation, mutual benefit and win-win principle," Li said.

He pointed out that SCO members have been top targets for China's foreign investment projects. That's as the trade volume between China and other SCO states has soared from 12 billion U.S. dollars to 90 billion for the past decade.

Meanwhile, China has promised to offer 12-billion-dollar preferential loans and has organized investment trips to other SCO countries, signing deals worth over 8 billion dollars.

China has proposed to enhance regional cooperation in energy, transportation, electricity, telecommunications and infrastructure, Li said.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of SCO's establishment. Chinese President Hu Jintao attended the Astana summit in June and outlined priorities for SCO's development over the next decade.

During the upcoming St. Petersburg SCO meeting, Li said, all sides would consider a number of major topics including promotion of intra-SCO economic cooperation, and a boosting of the regional economy.

China believes that the six-member group should take more active measures to facilitate regional trade and investment and improve cooperation in non-resource areas.

The group, Li said, also should push forward the realization of infrastructure interoperability, as well as speed up the diversification of financing channels.

Finally, Li said Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to Russia will also strengthen China-Russia ties within the SCO framework and inject new impetus to regional stability and development.

SCO enjoys rising international status: Chinese ambassador

 

[Lankan Ranger]

SCO meeting to discuss closer economic ties

Premier Wen Jiabao will meet his counterparts from fellow member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Monday to discuss greater economic integration to jointly resist the global financial crisis.

As Wen arrived in Russia's former imperial capital on Sunday afternoon for the 10th meeting of prime ministers of the SCO member states, analysts said the gathering would lay a solid foundation for future cooperation.

"The member countries have realized that boosting economic cooperation and development is crucial for the stability and security of the whole region," said Ji Zhiye, vice-president of China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

"China has made a substantive contribution to regional economic cooperation by developing trade, providing funds and implementing large infrastructure construction projects," Ji said, noting that China is currently the rotating chair of the SCO.

The SCO, which groups China, Russia and the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, was formed in 2001 and has grown into a regional bloc aimed at promoting cooperation in various fields.

So far, more than 30 economic deals have been signed within the SCO framework in the fields of energy, transportation, telecommunications and financial cooperation.

Vice-Foreign Minister Cheng Guoping told reporters earlier that the prime ministers of the six member countries will on Monday adopt a joint declaration on the economic situation in the world and in the SCO, and will sign several documents.

Though Cheng did not say what specific proposals Wen would make during the meeting, Li Xin, director of the Center for World Economy Studies with Shanghai Institutes for International Studies, said cooperation in energy and infrastructure construction are likely to be mentioned.

Promoting a strategic outline for the SCO up to 2020 and setting up an economic cooperation committee have been suggested by Chinese scholars and diplomats, said Li.

He added that financial cooperation, including the establishment of an SCO development bank and renminbi trade settlement, is also on the agenda of the Chinese side.

Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov was quoted as saying that he will make a proposal to create a commission at the level of economy ministries.

Leaders and representatives from SCO observer countries and Russia's guests, including India, Pakistan, Iran, Mongolia and Afghanistan, will also take part in the annual meeting.

During his two-day stay in St. Petersburg, Wen is also scheduled to hold a series of bilateral meetings, including one with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

On Sunday afternoon, Wen paid his respects to legendary Russian poet Alexander Pushkin at the Lyceum Museum.

The museum, which is devoted to the memory of the founder of modern Russian literature, was a school where Pushkin studied.

SCO meeting to discuss closer economic ties|Asia-Pacific|chinadaily.com.cn

 

[Determined Tiger]

this organization is a joke, just like a symbol! everybody knows member countries in SCO having conflicts with each others, how could they be a strong alliance force!?

Noway!

 

[ChineseTiger1986]

this organization is a joke, just like a symbol! everybody knows member countries in SCO having conflicts with each others, how could they be a strong alliance force!?

Noway!

The only most reliable alliance is the self-reliance.

China only views SCO as a cooperation, not an alliance.

 

[Icarus]

this organization is a joke, just like a symbol! everybody knows member countries in SCO having conflicts with each others, how could they be a strong alliance force!?

Noway!

Sometimes a symbol is all you need, when did CEATO or CENTO see any anti-communist action, yet they went down in history as "mighty" alliances to counter Soviet expansionism.