Xi Jinping: Development and security are key priorities for the SCO

The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation should put development and security at the top of its agenda, Chinese President Xi Jinping said as he addressed the group’s leaders in Bishkek on Sept. 1, 2026.

Xi called on the organisation to open new prospects for shared prosperity and build an environment of common security. He said the SCO should remain committed to dialogue and consultation as it works toward fair and orderly governance.

The Chinese leader praised the organisation’s 25-year path, describing it as a new type of regional cooperation body with the widest geographic reach, the largest population and substantial development potential. The SCO was founded in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. It now brings together 10 member states, two observer states and 15 dialogue partners.

Xi identified the “Shanghai Spirit” as the organisation’s most valuable legacy. He said it rests on mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for cultural diversity and a commitment to joint development. He also presented non-alignment, non-confrontation and a policy of not targeting third parties as the most important experience of cooperation within the SCO.

Against what he described as an intensifying global contest between dialogue and confrontation, mutually beneficial cooperation and zero-sum rivalry, and multilateralism and unilateralism, Xi urged the SCO to take on greater responsibility. He called for inclusive economic globalization and expanded cooperation in traditional sectors such as trade, investment, logistics, energy and resources, as well as newer fields including artificial intelligence, the digital economy, green industry and green mineral extraction.

China regards the SCO as a priority area for cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative, Xi said. China’s Commerce Ministry reported that trade between China and SCO countries reached $523.5 billion in 2025.