PrincipleofEqualConsultations
ThecooperationwithintheSCOisdistinguishedbyitsspiritofmutualtrust,mutualbenefit,equality,mutualconsultations,respectforculturaldiversity,andaspirationforcommondevelopment.Theseprinciples,referredtoastheShanghaiSpirit,hadtakenshapeintheperiodofthe鈥淪hanghaiFive,鈥漰redecessoroftheSCO,andcontinuetoserveasthebasisandessenceformultilateralcooperationbetweentheSCOmemberstates.
TheSCOupholdsanewtypeofsecuritythatadvocatesmutualsecurity,safeguardssecuritythroughcooperation,andaddressesconflictsbetweennationsandregionsthroughdialogue.Theorganizationadherestothenewformofcooperation,whichadvocatesthatallnations,bigorsmall,areequal,andemphasizesequalconsultationandmutualbenefits.Priorityisgiventosmall,developingcountriesfortheirdevelopment.Theorganizationalsomadeexplorationinfosteringanewtypeofrelationsbetweencountries.Forexample,memberstatescomplywithprinciplesofnon-alignment,nottargetinganythirdcountry,andnotbuildingmilitaryorpoliticalalliances.
Proceedingonwardsfromtheseprinciples,theSCOcountriestreateachotherwithsincerity,carryoutextensiveconsultations,andactwithintheircapacity.Thedecision-makingisnotuptomajorcountries,butforthesakeofallmemberstates鈥檌nterests,whichembodiesthesenseofaffinityandvitality.
Sincethe鈥淪hanghaiFive鈥漰eriod,China,Russia,Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan,andTajikistanhavetakenjointmeasurestorespondtofast-movinginternationalsituationsandchallenges,soastosafeguardregionalstability.
RegionalcooperationpromotedbytheSCOmemberstateshasdistinctivecharacteristics.First,itaimstoresolvethemostpressingsecurityissuesintheregion,suchascombatingextremism,terrorism,separatism,andillicitdrugtrafficking.Memberstateshavestrengthenedcooperationinnationaldefenseandintelligence,andcarriedoutlawenforcementcollaboratively.
Secondiseconomiccooperation.TheSCOvowstopromotetradeandinvestment,andeliminatetradebarriers.Membercountrieshaveidentifiedaslewofkeyareasandprojectsviabilateralandmultilateralcooperation,andsignedagreementstofacilitatelandtransportation.
Thirdisthemechanismofministeriallevelmeetings,whichhasbeenestablishedinvarioussectorsandfieldstopromoteculturalandpeople-to-peopleexchanges.Civicorganizationsandlocalgovernmentsarealsoencouragedtoconductexchangesinsuchfieldsaseducation,culture,health,scienceandtechnology,sports,youthaffairs,media,andtourism.
TheSCOadherestotheprincipleofopenandtransparentcooperation.Ononehand,itisreadytocooperatewithallcountriesandinternationalorganizationswhicharewillingtoparticipateintheSCOandacknowledgerelatedprinciples.Ontheotherhand,theSCOfirmlysafeguardstheauthorityoftheUnitedNationsanduniversallyrecognizednormsofinternationallaws,opposeshegemonyandpowerpolitics,andopposesinterferencebyforeignforcesintheinternalaffairsofacountry.
Regardinginternationalrelations,theSCOhasbecomeanobserveroftheUNGeneralAssembly,andsignedcooperationdocumentswithmanyinterna-tionalorganizations.Itisalsoengagedinpromotingitsappealtotheworldbyinvitingmorecountriesoutsidetheregion鈥搕heorganizationhasacceptedsixobserverstatesandsixdialoguepartnerssince2014,andcompleteditsfirstenlargementin2017.TheSCOalsoconvenedaninternationalmeetingontheAfghanistanissue,asalientexampleofitsactiveparticipationinthesettlementofhotspotissuesinandoutsidetheregion.Regardingmajorregionalandglobalissues,theSCOexpoundsitsstancesandmakesitsvoiceheardbytheinternationalcommunity,sotoprotecttheinterestsofregionalcountriesandalldevelopingcountriesandpromotemulti-polarizationanddemocraticinternationalrelations.Inresponsetotheriseoftradeprotectionismandcounter-globalizationtrend,theSCOcalledformultilateralcooperationtocreatebetterdevelopmentopportunitiesforregionalcountries.
CopingwithNewChallenges
NowtheSCOisinanewphaseofdevelopment.Expansionofmembershiphasenlargedthescopeofmultilateralcooperationindifferentsectors,andbroughtaboutnewopportunities.However,ithasalsogivenrisetoseveralacuteproblems,whichrequiretheorganizationtotackleeffectively.Theforemostistoadjusttheinternalmechanisms.Forexample,thetwonewmembers,IndiaandPakistan,needtoconditionthemselvestoSCO鈥檚operationproceduresandrules.Ontheotherhand,theorganization鈥檚permanentbodiesandvariousmechanismsshouldhavenecessaryreform,helpingthenewmembersfitintheorganizationintherunning-inperiod.
Secondistoadjustthekeyareasofcooperation.Theappealsfrombothnewandoldmembersshouldbetakenintoaccount,whiletheexistingpriorityareasshouldnotbechanged.Theprincipleshouldbeobservedwhenadvancingpragmaticcooperationineconomicandsecuritysectors.
Thirdistomakeadjustmentsinthefieldofinternationalrelations,consideringtheorganization鈥檚increasinginfluenceintheworldandrisingexternalpressures.TheSCOshouldsumupitsexperience,andprovidedefiniteanswerstosomeconcerns,suchaswhetheritwillexpandthemembershipinfutureandhowtohandlerelationswithWesterncountries.Lastbutnotleastistoadjustthewayofworking.TheSCOisgraduallyenteringamore鈥渄iversified鈥漵tage.ChinaandRussiaplayaleadingroleinmultilateralcooperation;IndiaandPakistan,bothregionalmajorcountries,havebecomefullmembers;andtheCentralAsianmemberstendtoplaytheirpartintheorganization.Undersuchcircumstances,itisevenmoreimportanttorecognizeandrespectdifferencesamongcountries,andonthebasisofthat,toseekmoreconsensusoncooperation.
TheSCOalsofaceschallengesfromthecomplexgeopoliticalsituationandinternationalsecurityenvironment.Onaglobalscale,relationsamongChina,theU.S.,andRussiaareundergoingprofoundadjustmentsandconflicts;awiderangeofhotspotissuesintheEurasiancontinentkeepheatingup;andtheunilateralismandtheColdWarmentalityaregatheringmomentumintheWest,whichhavedisturbedworldpeace,andunderminedtheinternationalorder.
Attheregionallevel,the鈥淚slamicState鈥漣sgoingtoadeadendinWestAsia,butextremistsarelikelytoflowintoCentralAsiaandAfghanistan,creatingevenmorethornyproblemstotheworldatlarge.TheSCOwillnotleaveitselfout,butrespondwithaneffectivepolicy.Infact,theSCOisoneofthefirstinternationalorganizationstofightagainstterrorism.ThememberstateshavesignedTheShanghaiConventiononCombatingTerrorism,Separatism,andExtremism,TheSCOConventiononAnti-Terrorism,andTheSCOConventiononAnti-Extremism.Thesestatesalsoratifieddocumentsoncombatingillicitdrugtrafficking,madeannualplansregardingsecurityissues,andcarriedoutjointexercisetoenhancemilitarymutualtrust.
ThememberstatesintheCentralAsianregionhaveresumedtheprocessof鈥渋ntegration鈥漷hatexcludesadjacentmajorcountries.Theactionwasmadebasedontheirneeds,butalsoattributedtoforcesoutsidetheregion.ItispossibletoseethesecountriesalienatetheSCOinfuture.TheAfghanissueandIran鈥檚nuclearcrisisthatarestillunabletohaveafundamentalsolutioncouldcreatenewturmoilatanytime.Inaddition,IndiaandPakistan,bothnuclear-armedcountries,takeopposingstanceswitheachother,whichisalsoarealchallengefortheSCO.
Theever-changinginternationaleconomicandsecuritysituationsimpedetheinternalsolidarityandcohesionoftheorganization.Thebestwaytoaddressthedifficultiesistoenhancethemultilateralmechanism鈥檚efficiencyofdecision-makingandcompetenceofoperation.Thefocusshouldbeputonthesettlementofregionalissues,topreventconflictsamongmemberstatesfrombeingamplified.TheorganizationshouldplayaleadingroleinabroaderinternationalarenainopposingtheunilateralmovesthatafewWesternpowersmaketoconsolidatetheirhegemony.
ACommunitywithaSharedFutureforMankind
TheSCOmemberstatesvaryineconomicstrengthandresourceendowment,aswellasinthedegreeofparticipationininternationaltradeanddivisionoflabor.Forthesereasons,afewcountriesholdnegativeattitudetowardsmultilateralcooperation,whichresultedinrelativelylaggingbehindeconomiccooperationwithintheSCOframework.IndiaandPakistan,whichjustbecamememberslastyear,needtobemorefamiliarwiththeSCO鈥檚structureandproceduresgradually,observetheexistingrulesofconduct,andproperlyhandlehistoricalissuesanddisputeswithothermemberstates.Alltheserequiretheleadersofmemberstatestoworktogetherwithwisdom,makeplansforfuturedevelopment,andseekthemostreasonablepathforcooperation.
Theyear2018isthefirstyearafterthe19thNationalCongressoftheCommunistPartyofChina(CPC)wassuccessfullyconvened.ItalsomarksthefifthyearoftheproposaloftheBeltandRoadInitiative.TheideaofthemajorcountrydiplomacywithChinesecharacteristicshasbecomeclearer,andisexpectedtocontributetothedevelopmentandstabilityoftheregionandeventheworld.PresidentXiJinpingproposedtobuildacommunitywithasharedfutureformankindandforgeanewformofinternationalrelations,whichalsopointedtheSCOinarightdirectionintheyearstocome.TheneweraandhistoricalconditionshavegivennewconnotationstotheShanghaiSpirit,andtheSCOcanserveasademonstrationofbuildingacommunityofasharedfuturebycountrieswithdiverseculturesandsystems.TwoRussianstudents,abrotherandasisterwhoarestudyingattheChinaUniversityofPetroleuminQingdao,writeinRussianandChinesetowelcometheSCOQingdaomeeting.TheSCOisthefirstinternationalorganizationnamedafteraChinesecity.ItthushasdistinctiveChinesecharacteristicsfromtheoutset.Inthepast17years,Chinahascontributedideasandwayofthinking,setgoalsformultilateralcooperation,andalsocameupwithspecificplansandconcretemeasures.Forexample,ChinahasprovidedmorethanUS$22billionofconcessionalloanswithintheSCOframework,setuptheGood-Neighborliness,FriendshipandCooperationCommission,andacooperationcenterforenvironmentalprotection.Allthemeasuresareaimedatextendingfriendshiptofuturegenerations,expandingnongovernmentalexchanges,andcreatingfavorablepublicopinions,soastolayasolidfoundationforregionalcooperation.
TheSCOisabletoleveragetheBeltandRoadInitiativetobuildacommunitywithasharedfutureformankind,proposedbyChinesePresidentXiJinping,togainnewmomentumfordevelopment.TheSCOmemberstatesandobserverstatesareallsituatedalongtheBeltandRoadroutes.Overmillenniatheyhaveformedfirmfriendshipsthroughtradeandexchanges,whichalsogavebirthtothepartnershipfeaturingmutualbenefitsandcooperationincontemporarytimes.
In2013,PresidentXiJinpingproposedtobuildtheSilkRoadEconomicBeltinaspeechdeliveredinAstana,Kazakhstan,whichhasproducedclearlyobservablechangesgloballyovertheshortspanofafewyears.TheinitiativealsobroughtgreatopportunitiesfortheSCO.ItservesasanimportantplatformformemberstatestowedtheirnationalstrategieswiththeBeltandRoadInitiative.
Inthefuture,theSCOwillestablishsolidandsecurenetworksandboosttransnationaleconomicandculturalexchanges.Moreimportantly,itisexpectedtoblazeanewtrailforregionalcooperation,soastoplayanirreplaceableroleintransformingglobalgovernanceandbuildingacommunitywithasharedfutureformankind.C
SUNZHUANGZHIisdirectoroftheInstituteofRussianandEasternEuropean&CentralAsiaStudiesattheChineseAcademyofSocialSciences,andexecutivedirectoroftheChinaShanghaiCooperationOrganizationResearchCenter.