Chinese FM urges joint efforts to build SCO into community of interest

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Saturday urged members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to build the regional body into an all-round community of interest. Wang made the appeal while addressing a meeting of SCO foreign ministers at the Kyrgyz resort town of Cholpon-Ata. Over the past year, the SCO stepped up its fight against the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism, as well as drug-trafficking and transnational organized crimes, he said. The SCO, he added, also initiated a number of big projects in such sectors as trade, transportation, telecommunications and finance, and made progress in promoting cooperation in education, technology and disaster relief. These achievements had effectively maintained regional security, and provided concrete help for member nations to develop their economies and improve people's livelihood, Wang added. Wang called on the member states to continue to deepen their mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, and work hard to build the SCO into a community featuring common interests in political, security, economic and social areas. The Chinese foreign minister said all parties should strengthen their consultation and coordination on security and development issues so that they could rely on each other to guarantee their security and development. The SCO members should also beef up security cooperation and build up a security shield, Wang said, adding that they should elevate the SCO's ability in detecting and handling various security threats. On the situation in Afghanistan, Wang said the organization should push the international community to respect the country's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, vigorously support its reconstruction, and offer necessary assistance for its internal reconciliation. Wang said the SCO countries need to deepen their regional economic cooperation, and alleviate the impact on the members from the depressed global economy. He suggested the SCO states maintain regional financial, energy and food security, build up infrastructure to promote interconnectivity, seek new economic growth points via technological innovation, and eliminate the conditions that breed social instability by improving living standards and reducing poverty. The minister also urged the members to promote friendly exchanges between their peoples, and enhance their cooperation in education, health care, technology, disaster relief and environmental protection. He also appealed to all sides to help construct a fairer and more rational world order by expanding cooperation with the SCO's observers, dialogue partners, the UN and other international and regional bodies. The new Chinese government is committed to maintaining good relations with its neighbors, Wang said, adding that China will also stick to the principle of combining the interests of the Chinese people with the common interests of the peoples from other SCO members so as to deepen cooperation of mutual benefit. Other participants in the meeting agreed that they should further enhance law enforcement cooperation, promote people-to-people and cultural exchanges, and jointly handle the situation in Afghanistan, in order to boost regional peace and stability and common development.