China's Xi presses on 'unity against interference' in internal affairs of SCO states

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) - China’s President Xi Jinping Thursday called on members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), to "consolidate unity" against interference in internal affairs by foreign forces.

“Human society has come to another crossroads. It is crucial to the world that the SCO stands on the right side of history and on the side of fairness and justice,” Xi told the council of heads of state at the SCO summit in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

“Transformation unseen in a century is unfolding at a faster pace. … Faced with real challenges from outside forces to interfere in internal affairs and create divisions, unity must be consolidated,” Xi said, according to China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.

The Chinese president called for upholding the “bottom line of security” amid “real threats from the Cold War mentality.”

Xi stressed that the right to development “must be safeguarded.”

“It’s crucial to stay true to SCO’s founding mission, continue to hold high the banner of the Shanghai Spirit, support each other and help each other succeed, keep to the right direction for the development of the SCO, and build this Organization into a reliable foundation for the common prosperity and revitalization of its member states,” he told the summit.

According to Xi, the SCO has expanded to include 10 member states in the past 23 years.

“The big family is now composed of 26 countries from three continents. And it has been joined by more and more partners and built a more solid basis for cooperation,” he added.

The two-day summit began on Wednesday in Astana, where the SCO accepted Belarus as its 10th full member state.

Belarus became a dialogue partner in the SCO in 2010 and an observer state in 2015. ​​​​​​​

The organization was founded in 2001 in Shanghai. Initially, it consisted of six countries -- Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. In 2017, India and Pakistan joined the bloc, and Iran in 2023.

​​​​​​​There are two other observer states, Afghanistan and Mongolia, and 14 dialogue partners including Türkiye.