Gather consensus for cooperation and build a closer community with a shared future

——The international community is eagerly looking forward to President Xi Jinping’s attendance at the 2025 SCO Summit

The 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit will be held in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1. This is the fifth time that China has hosted the SCO summit, and it is also the largest summit since the establishment of the SCO.

On the banks of the Haihe River, Chinese President Xi Jinping will summarize the successful experiences of the SCO with more than 20 foreign leaders and 10 heads of international organizations, draw up a blueprint for the development of the SCO, build consensus on cooperation among the "SCO family", and promote the SCO to make strides towards the goal of building a closer community with a shared future.

People from many countries are eagerly looking forward to President Xi Jinping attending the 2025 SCO Summit and delivering an important speech. They believe that under the joint leadership of President Xi Jinping and leaders of all parties, the Tianjin Summit will chart the way forward and inject strong impetus for the development of the SCO, pushing the SCO into a new stage of high-quality development that is more united, more collaborative, more dynamic and more fulfilling, and will continue to contribute the "SCO power" to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

"Establishing a new milestone in the development of the SCO"

The tide of the Haihe River welcomes the SCO, and win-win cooperation leads to the future. The international community generally expects that the "SCO family" will once again write a new chapter of unity and cooperation.

"I believe that under the leadership of President Xi Jinping and leaders of various countries, the Tianjin Summit will become an important opportunity to promote the SCO to move forward and build the SCO into a model of deepening unity and cooperation and safeguarding fairness and justice." said Sheradil Baktygulov, director of the Institute of World Politics in Kyrgyzstan.

From the banks of the Huangpu River to the shores of the Haihe River, the SCO has always adhered to the "Shanghai Spirit" of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diverse civilizations, and seeking common development since its establishment 24 years ago. It has gradually grown into the world's largest and most populous regional cooperation organization. It has successfully forged a regional cooperation path that conforms to the trend of the times and meets the needs of all parties, and has set a model for a new type of international relations.

Baktygulov noted that President Xi Jinping will propose new methods and paths for the SCO to constructively safeguard the post-World War II international order and improve the global governance system during the Tianjin Summit. The summit will also issue a statement on the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. "The 'Shanghai Spirit' provides a new paradigm of international relations that transcends old concepts such as the clash of civilizations and zero-sum game." He said, "The current international order is facing challenges, and the Tianjin Summit will point the way for the unity and development of the SCO."

Robind Sachdev, director and founder of the Indian Impression Institute, believes that in today's complex and ever-changing international situation, the SCO has the ability and will play an increasingly important role in international and regional affairs, and the upcoming Tianjin Summit is therefore highly anticipated.

Since China took over the rotating chairmanship of the SCO in July last year, it has implemented the chairmanship slogan of "Promoting the 'Shanghai Spirit': The SCO in Action" and successfully held more than 100 rich activities.

"The SCO was born out of the common desire for peace and stability, and mutual trust is a strong support for the SCO." said Marina Dmitrieva, deputy director of the Institute of Asian Science and Innovation at Russia's Far Eastern Federal University. China has further enhanced the cohesion of the SCO through a series of activities and initiatives, enhanced the SCO's cohesion in the global South and its influence on the international stage. It looks forward to the SCO Tianjin Summit to draw up a new blueprint for the development of the SCO.

Hamid Wafaei, director of the Asian Studies Center at the University of Tehran in Iran, was deeply impressed by the important proposals put forward by President Xi Jinping at the SCO Astana Summit in 2024, believing that these proposals reflected "unique strategic vision and grand global vision."

"I look forward to listening to President Xi Jinping's important speech at the Tianjin Summit." Wafaei said that he believed that countries will, under the guidance of the "Shanghai Spirit", further deepen political mutual trust, refine mutually beneficial cooperation, promote the establishment of a more fair and reasonable global governance system, and "establish a new milestone in the development process of the SCO."

“Promoting the SCO to achieve high-quality development”

In the China-Belarus Industrial Park located on the outskirts of Minsk, the capital of Belarus, Kirill Karodeyev, the first deputy general manager of the Park Development Co., Ltd., carefully browsed the news about the SCO Tianjin Summit. "I am very much looking forward to President Xi Jinping's attendance at the Tianjin Summit. Under the joint leadership of President Xi Jinping and the leaders of the SCO member states, the Tianjin Summit will definitely bring new opportunities for all parties to expand economic, trade and investment relations and strengthen the alignment of development strategies." Karodeyev said.

Belarus will join the SCO in 2024. "After joining the SCO, Belarus launched a series of measures such as logistics coordination, transit optimization, and digital improvement to help the park attract more investment." Karodeyev, who has visited China many times, said that the Tianjin Summit will bring exciting development cooperation prospects to all SCO member states.

In recent years, projects such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor, and the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor have been successfully implemented. Centering on the theme of the "SCO Year of Sustainable Development" and focusing on the innovation of development momentum, China also hosted a number of training activities on green development and poverty reduction, environmental protection information sharing, and green and low-carbon technologies. Practical cooperation in the "SCO family" has entered the fast lane, benefiting all parties.

Yasiru Ranaraja, founding director of Sri Lanka’s “One Belt, One Road” organization, pays close attention to the upcoming SCO Tianjin Summit. He said that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has continued to grow and develop since its establishment 24 years ago, which not only reflects its inclusiveness, but also demonstrates its attractiveness and vitality. This well-known expert on international issues in Sri Lanka believes that the SCO provides a valuable cooperation platform for countries in the global South, and Sri Lanka hopes to connect with the regional trade integration construction promoted by the SCO.

"We wish the Tianjin Summit a complete success!" Egyptian Foreign Minister Abdul Atty said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency reporters that he looks forward to the summit making new progress on issues such as development financing and technical cooperation. We also look forward to the SCO contributing wisdom to international financial and economic governance under the current new world economic situation and new challenges.

Rasulov, an expert on China issues in Tajikistan, said that China has made remarkable achievements in many fields such as state governance, open cooperation, innovative development, etc., has successfully explored a Chinese-style modernization path, and actively shared development experience with the "SCO family". He believes that guided by the "Shanghai Spirit", "the Tianjin Summit will propose more new development ideas that are in line with the interests and expectations of all countries and promote the SCO to achieve high-quality development."

"Playing an important role in building a community with a shared future for mankind"

Sherik Korzhumbayev, editor-in-chief of Kazakhstan Business News, has participated in many activities under the SCO framework. The one that impressed him most was the first SCO media summit held in Beijing in June 2018.

"President Xi Jinping pointed out in his congratulatory letter at that time that the media, as an important bridge for SCO countries to carry out exchanges and cooperation and promote people-to-people connections, should strive to be the promoters of the 'Shanghai Spirit', the pioneers of practical cooperation, and the communicators of people's friendship," Korzhumbayev said. "In today's world of profound changes and the transformation and development of the media, President Xi Jinping's words still have important guiding significance."

Regarding the upcoming Tianjin Summit, Korzhumbayev is particularly looking forward to hearing President Xi Jinping’s important exposition on promoting people-to-people exchanges among SCO member states. He believes that this summit will further deepen exchanges in think tanks, media, youth and other fields, continue to promote people-to-people connectivity, and promote the SCO to "play an important role in building a community with a shared future for mankind."

Strengthening exchanges and mutual learning and promoting people-to-people bonds are the warm foundation of the SCO. In recent years, the SCO has witnessed splendid cooperation in the field of humanities and education - the media think tank summit has built consensus, the youth exchange camp has conveyed friendship, the film festival has bloomed cultural charm, and the Luban Workshop has tightened the ties of educational cooperation...

"The SCO provides a broad stage for cultural exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations. This is my personal experience." Uzbek scholar Dilysore Mirza Akhmedova, who has studied and worked in China for 15 years, said that she looks forward to the Tianjin Summit to further enhance the friendship among the people of the SCO member states. As the famous Uzbek poet Navoy said, "There is no better thing than living in friendship."

"There are different cultures and traditions in the SCO family, and this diversity has been transformed into a synergy of unity and progress." Hassan Butt, a senior associate professor at Bahria University who was the director of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project in the Ministry of Planning, Development and Special Projects of Pakistan, believes that this reflects the "Shanghai spirit" and "SCO charm." "In today's challenging times, the SCO's role in promoting a better world is more important than ever."

Butt said he believed that the Tianjin Summit would not only deepen the SCO's cooperation in security, economic and trade and other fields, but also further build a bridge for exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations and promote all parties to join hands to build a closer SCO community with a shared future.