Li unveils proposal on deepening SCO cooperation

Premier Li Qiang (fifth from left) and other leaders of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization pose for a group photo on Wednesday at the 23rd Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of Member States of the SCO in Islamabad, Pakistan. LI TAO/XINHUA

On behalf of China, Premier Li Qiang has put forward a four-point proposal on deepening cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Li unveiled the proposal when addressing the 23rd Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of Member States of the SCO in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, on Wednesday.

The proposal includes strengthening the synergy of development strategies, expanding practical cooperation, actively addressing major risks and expanding people-to-people exchanges.

Beijing calls on the organization's member states to work on formulating a development strategy for the SCO for the next decade, drawing a road map for cooperation in various fields, strengthening strategic communication, and "resolving differences and enhancing mutual trust through dialogue", Li said.

He said that, in terms of practical cooperation, it is necessary to deepen cooperation in areas such as poverty reduction, the digital economy and green development, and to enhance facilitation of trade and investment as well as connectivity in the region.

Member states "should maintain the stability and smoothness of the industrial and supply chains" and actively prepare for the establishment of an SCO development bank, he added.

Regarding the main risks faced by member states, Li emphasized the need to strengthen joint actions to combat the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism.

He underlined the need to speed up the construction of an integrated center for dealing with security threats and challenges as well as an anti-narcotics center.

Building such a common home for the SCO, Li said, "requires a more solid political foundation, more reliable security guarantees, closer economic ties, deeper emotional ties, and more coordinated multilateral cooperation".

The rest of the parties participating in the meeting agreed that SCO member states have vigorously boosted the region's peace, stability and development, and they need to be even more united and collaborative.

They said it is necessary to strengthen the synergy between the Belt and Road and the Eurasian Economic Union, and deepen cooperation in areas such as economy and trade, security, connectivity, energy, finance, green development and poverty reduction.

They also called for practicing genuine multilateralism, jointly upholding international justice, and promoting lasting peace and common prosperity in the region and the world.

Li and other participating leaders of the SCO member states signed and issued a joint communique and approved resolutions related to the buildup of the SCO, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

On the sidelines of the SCO gathering, Li held the China-Russia-Mongolia trilateral prime ministers' meeting together with Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin and Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene on Wednesday.

China is ready to focus on key cooperation within the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, deepen multilateral collaboration in the SCO and other platforms, share development opportunities and their fruits, and safeguard common interests, Li said.

The Russian and Mongolian sides expressed their willingness to jointly strengthen the synergy among the Eurasian Economic Union, the Steppe Road Program and the Belt and Road Initiative, accelerate the construction of the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, and cooperate closer in areas such as transportation, energy and culture.

Also on Wednesday, Li held a bilateral meeting with Russian Prime Minister Mishustin, and both leaders praised the high level of bilateral ties.

Li said Beijing is willing to further deepen cooperation with Moscow in traditional fields such as the economy, trade and energy, as well as promote cooperation in emerging sectors such as the digital economy and constantly upgrade the level of collaboration in industrial and supply chains.

Mishustin said Russia is willing to deepen practical cooperation in areas such as trade and closely communicate and collaborate with China within frameworks such as the United Nations, the SCO and BRICS.