Staying focused and taking solid actions for a brighter future of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

Remarks by H.E. Xi Jinping

President of the People's Republic of China

At the 19th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)

Bishkek, 14 June 2019

Your Excellency President Sooronbay Jeenbekov,

Dear Colleagues,

It gives me great pleasure to attend the 19th meeting of the SCO Council of Heads of State in the beautiful city of Bishkek. Let me begin by thanking our host Kyrgyzstan for the great preparation and thoughtful arrangements for this event. China highly commends the tremendous efforts Kyrgyzstan has made to promote the development of the SCO since taking over the SCO presidency last June.

The SCO has maintained a sound momentum of development since the Qingdao Summit. The propositions on development, security, cooperation, civilization and global governance put forth by China at the Qingdao Summit were warmly received by all sides and added to the SCO's vision on cooperation. Guided by the Shanghai Spirit and the consensus of the leaders, SCO members have deepened cooperation in various fields and scored new achievements in moving the organization forward from a new starting point.

Despite immense changes in the international situation, peace, development and win-win cooperation remain the irreversible trend of our times. As a line in the Chinese classics goes, "Those who farm observe the shift of seasons, those who govern follow the change of the world." We need to keep a profound understanding of the overriding trend toward multi-polarity and economic globalization, draw inspiration from the wisdom of the Shanghai Spirit, and seek strength from solidarity and cooperation so as to jointly build a closer SCO community with a shared future.

First, we must make the SCO an example of solidarity and mutual trust. The SCO has maintained a strong momentum of development and become an important and constructive force for regional security, stability and prosperity. The ultimate reason for its success lies in the Shanghai Spirit, which calls for continued enhancement of solidarity and mutual trust. We have on our shoulders the expectations of the people of SCO countries and we must think and work in one mind to build the momentum we need to achieve our common goal.

The Shanghai Spirit embodies the core values and common vision of the SCO. It has to be upheld and kept up-to-date in light of the evolving circumstances and the development of the organization. We must abide by the purposes and principles established by the SCO Charter and the Treaty on Long-term Good Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation, strengthen political mutual trust, give each other greater support, expand convergence of interests and create more favorable conditions to deepen bilateral and multilateral cooperation.

Second, we must make the SCO an example of common security. Over the years, guided by the vision of common security and a shared future, SCO members have carried out practical and highly efficient cooperation on the security front and ensured the overall security and stability of the region. Facing grave challenges from terrorism, extremism and other threats, we must all act together and with forceful measures to tackle our common challenges.

We must pursue common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. We must further improve the legal foundation for security cooperation. We must step up information sharing, joint operations and cyber law enforcement to strengthen the SCO's ability to respond to complex situations. We must take a multi-pronged approach against terrorism, separatism and extremism, and fend off the resurgence of extremist and terrorist forces. As the SCO Convention on Countering Extremism enters into effect, we must further strengthen cooperation on deradicalization to curb the spread of extremist ideology. Afghanistan is neighbor to many SCO member countries and an important observer state of the organization. We have been following the developments in Afghanistan closely. Our thoughts are with the Afghan people who are suffering from war and chaos. The SCO firmly supports the Afghan-led and Afghan-owned peace and reconciliation process. We will make full use of the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group, step up cooperation in various fields and play a constructive role in the early realization of peace, reconciliation, stability and development in Afghanistan. China will continue to do what it can to help with Afghanistan's peace and reconstruction.