Unity, peace high on Xi's SCO agenda

Beijing looks to work for fresh consensus and greater solidarity, peace, and prosperity among the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, as President Xi Jinping is set to start his Central Asia tour on Tuesday and attend the SCO Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, officials and experts said.

The upcoming summit in the Kazakh capital is the most important event within the framework of the SCO this year.

During the gathering, Xi will have an in-depth exchange of views with the leaders of the participating countries on deepening cooperation in various fields under the new circumstances, as well as on major international and regional issues, and the summit will map out plans for the SCO's development in the near future.

"China believes that this summit will help build more consensus, open up a new chapter of cooperation, and contribute to the security, stability, development, and prosperity of all countries and to building a community with a shared future for mankind," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Monday.

The SCO keeps its doors open to the outside world, and its cooperation is not directed against third parties, said Sun Zhuangzhi, director of the Institute of Russian, Eastern European, and Central Asian Studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

"It creates conditions for the economic development of the region and the resumption of international exchanges in the post-pandemic era," he added.

In the wake of the Astana summit, China will take over the rotating presidency of the SCO for 2024-25, seven years since the nation was the SCO chair the last time.

"China attaches great importance to the presidency and has fully begun preparations," Mao said, adding that China is willing to work with various parties to deepen cooperation and promote the grouping's high-quality development.

The goal is to "bring more benefits to the people of the region and contribute more to lasting peace and common prosperity in the world", she said.

During his tour, which will run through Saturday, Xi will also make state visits to two of China's Central Asian neighbors — Kazakhstan and Tajikistan.

During the state visits, Xi will hold talks with the two heads of state and have in-depth exchanges of views on respective bilateral relations, cooperation in priority areas, as well as the international and regional situation.

The China-Kazakhstan relationship is in its best shape since the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries more than 30 years ago, with the two heads of state maintaining regular interactions, observers noted.

The upcoming state visit marks Xi's fifth trip to Kazakhstan as president.

"It is believed that President Xi Jinping's visit will further promote the quality and upgrading of China-Kazakhstan relations, enrich the connotation of high-quality cooperation between the two countries in building the Belt and Road, and further improve the well-being of the two peoples," said Mao, the spokeswoman.

In the meantime, China has been Kazakhstan's top trade partner. Trade between the two countries has reached record highs, with the annual trade volume reaching $41 billion last year, up 32 percent year-on-year.

"Based on the trade data for the first quarter of 2024, both sides are very optimistic in their projections for trade growth this year," Kazakhstan's Ambassador to China Shakhrat Nuryshev said in a recent interview with People's Daily.

Zhang Xiao, Chinese ambassador to Kazakhstan, said that President Xi's visit will boost the two nations' traditional friendship, consolidate their relationship as good neighbors, strengthen political mutual trust, enhance mutually beneficial cooperation, and open up a better future.

"It will surely inject a strong driving force into the development of Sino-Kazakh relations and regional stability and prosperity," he said.

Tajikistan is a friendly neighbor and comprehensive strategic partner of China, and the upcoming trip to Tajikistan will be Xi's second state visit to the country in five years.

In May last year, Xi and Tajik President Emomali Rahmon held talks in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, and jointly announced the plan to build a China-Tajikistan community with a shared future, featuring everlasting friendship, solidarity, mutual support, and mutual benefit.

"China looks forward to working with Tajikistan to take this visit as an opportunity to further consolidate political mutual trust, deepen high-quality cooperation in the joint building of the Belt and Road, and promote people-to-people bonds," Mao said.

Chinese Ambassador to Tajikistan Ji Shumin said that over the more than 30 years since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, the ties "have always maintained sound and stable development" in the face of an ever-changing international situation.

China and Tajikistan "have always been in the forefront of building a community with a shared future for mankind", and under the strategic leadership of the two heads of state, the relationship has "made great strides in development", he told a seminar last month.