Xi meets SCO government heads

Chinese President Xi Jinping (3rd R) meets with leaders of members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), namely Tajikistan's Prime Minister Qohir Rasulzoda (1st R), Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Karim Masimov (2nd R), Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev (3rd L), Kyrgyzstan's Prime Minister Temir Sariyev (2nd L) and First Deputy Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Rustam Azimov (1st L), in Wuzhen Town, east China's Zhejiang province, Dec 16, 2015. [Photo/Xinhua]

President Xi Jinping called for greater cooperation in high and cutting-edge technologies, such as e-commerce, when he met Shanghai Cooperation Organization government heads.

"Increased cooperation should be encouraged and facilitated among mid- and small-scale enterprises of the SCO countries," Xi said in a group meeting with them on Wednesday in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province.

Heads of government from China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan were in central China's Zhengzhou city for a meeting of SCO Prime Ministers earlier this week.

Xi also suggested that "the research on measures to boost visits should be geared up" to fully tap into the potential of cooperation at the people-to-people level.

The government heads at the meeting echoed Xi's proposal on further dovetailing the Silk Road Economic Belt and Eurasia Economic Union, as well as the link between the Belt and respective development strategies of the SCO.

Countries should coordinate industrial adjustment, give full play to complementary economic strengths and seek new highlights for growth for multilateral cooperation, Xi said.

Also on Wednesday, Xi met separately with visiting Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Massimov and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.