Chinese President Xi Jinping arrived at the Ak Orda Presidential Palace in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan on Wednesday morning to attend the welcome ceremony held by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
The limousine carrying Xi arrived at the presidential palace accompanied by a motorcycle escort.
Kazakh fighter jets painted the sky with colored smoke trails as Tokayev hosted a welcome ceremony for Xi.
A group of six jets, while flying over the presidential palace, left behind them colored smoke trails of red and yellow, colors of the Chinese national flag.
Xi arrived in Astana on Tuesday noon to attend the 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) and pay a state visit to Kazakhstan.
The SCO summit is scheduled to be held in Astana on July 3-4. China will take over the SCO rotating chair after the summit.
Xi's state visit to Kazakhstan is the first leg of his tour from Tuesday to Saturday, and he will also pay a state visit to Tajikistan at the invitation of President Emomali Rahmon.
Xi arrives at Kazakh presidential palace to attend welcome ceremony
Xi arrives at Kazakh presidential palace to attend welcome ceremony
Xi arrives at Kazakh presidential palace to attend welcome ceremony
The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has emerged as a key player in safeguarding global security, development and stability after 23 years of development through its steadfast commitment to the "Shanghai Spirit", which champions mutual trust, mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations and pursuit of common development, according to a commentary published by China Media Group (CMG) on Friday.
An edited English-language version of the commentary is as follows:
The 24th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO and the expanded meeting of the SCO, or SCO+, were successively held on Thursday in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. The two meetings yielded remarkable results and consensus, including Belarus' official acceptance as the 10th member state, the first-ever "SCO+" model meeting, and the issuance of an initiative to jointly promote world justice, harmony and development.
Facing a world fraught with changes and turbulence, the SCO has not only demonstrated its strong vitality, but also showed its capability to play a greater role in safeguarding global security and development.
Chinese President Xi Jinping attended both important meetings, emphasizing the need to continue holding high the banner of the "Shanghai Spirit", jointly stabilize the development direction of the SCO, and build a common home featuring solidarity and mutual trust, peace and tranquility, prosperity and development, good-neighborliness and friendship, as well as fairness and justice.
Li Yongquan, head of the China Society for Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies, said that President Xi's important propositions are based on the role of the SCO with a global outlook, pointing out the direction for the SCO to cope with turbulent changes of the times.
Former Kyrgyz ambassador to China Baktygulova Kanaiym said that President Xi's series of important initiatives and propositions have once again demonstrated China's leading role in the development of the SCO.
After 23 years of development, the SCO now boasts 10 full members, two observer countries, and 14 dialogue partners, spanning three continents -- Asia, Africa, and Europe. The "SCO family" continues to expand because of its unwavering commitment to the "Shanghai Spirit," characterized by mutual trust, mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations and pursuit of common development. This approach has paved a new path of development featuring partnership over alliance and dialogue over confrontation.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other heads of international organizations attended the SCO Plus Summit, which reflects a high recognition of the SCO's influence and the "Shanghai Spirit" it advocates. It also shows that the SCO has evolved from a regional organization into a globally influential force.
The current world landscape is undergoing accelerated transformation. While the international system is becoming more just and multi-polar, offering greater opportunities for equal and mutually beneficial cooperation among nations, the rise of power politics and the intensification of geopolitical confrontations and conflicts pose increasing risks to global and SCO regional stability.
To navigate this changing landscape and create a brighter future for the SCO, President Xi has proposed five key suggestions. These suggestions, encompassing values, political security, economic development, cultural exchanges, and global governance, provide a "Chinese solution" for upgrading the quality of SCO cooperation.
Promoting common security is part of the fundamental basis of the SCO, and focusing on practical cooperation is a major driving force behind its development.
Presently, traditional and non-traditional security challenges in the Asia-Europe region are intertwined. Certain external forces are fanning the flames of the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism in the region and persisting in their attempts to instigate the so-called "color revolutions."
Within such a context, China proposes that all countries respect each other's independent choice of development path and support each other in safeguarding their core interests. The SCO must uphold the bottom line of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security. Countries should strengthen cooperation in areas such as counter-terrorism, drug control, and information exchange. These proposals are highly relevant and conducive to providing a more solid guarantee for regional security and stability.
In recent years, driven by the Belt and Road Initiative, trade and investment among SCO members have continued to expand, bringing tangible benefits to the people of all countries. In 2023 alone, China's trade with the five Central Asian countries reached nearly 90 billion U.S. dollars, representing a 27.2 percent year-on-year increase and hitting a record high.
At the event, China presented many practical measures to promote common development -- ranging from proposing 2025 as the SCO Year of Sustainable Development to implementing eight major operations for high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, and from actively promoting the establishment of the SCO financing platform to initiating the creation of the SCO digital education alliance. These initiatives will help the participating countries deepen cooperation and coordination, and achieve joint development and revitalization.
China has also proposed to host 1,000 young people from SCO countries for exchange opportunities in China in the next five years. This will promote the implementation of the Global Civilization Initiative and foster mutual learning and understanding among the region's countries and peoples.
With its growing strength, the SCO is playing an increasingly constructive role in international affairs.
The just-concluded current SCO summit issued the Astana Declaration, the SCO initiative on joint promotion of justice, harmony and development amid solidarity, and the statement on the principles of good-neighborliness, mutual trust and partnership, calling for "peaceful settlement of differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation" and the "promotion of building a new type of international relations and a community with a shared future for mankind based on mutual respect, fairness and justice, and win-win cooperation." These declarations reflect a clear stance on de-escalating hotspot conflicts and opposing hegemony and power politics, and demonstrate the SCO's greater responsibility in maintaining world peace and stability.
Throughout its journey, solidarity and cooperation have been keys to the SCO's success, and they remain the inevitable choice as it adapts to new challenges and opens up new horizons.
After the Astana summit, China, taking over the rotating presidency of the SCO, is ready to work with other SCO members to carry forward the "Shanghai Spirit", promote the building of an even closer SCO community of shared future, and contribute "SCO strength" to eliminating the global deficit in peace, development, security and governance.
As President Xi pointed out, the SCO stands on the right side of history, fairness and justice, and is of great significance to the world.
SCO poised to play greater role in safeguarding global security, development: commentary
