The SCO Forum on Governance and Leadership was held from July 27 to 28 in Beijing, as part of the events marking the 20th anniversary of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

Co-organized by China National Academy of Governance (CNAG) and the SCO Secretariat, the two-day forum brought together nearly 200 representatives from SCO member states, observer states, dialogue partners and international organizations.

Promoting good-neighborliness and cooperation

Following the Shanghai Spirit, which champions mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for the diversity of civilizations, and pursuit of common development, the SCO has consistently enhanced political, security, economic, cultural and humanitarian cooperation, said Chen Xi, member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee, and president of the CNAG.

Chen noted in his opening address that trade between China and SCO members increased to $245 billion in 2020, nearly 20 times higher than that of 2001 when the SCO was established. 

As of the end of 2020, Chinese direct investment in SCO member states reached $28 billion and a large number of cooperation projects on infrastructure and production capacity had been carried out successfully, according to Chen.

Chen's remarks were echoed by Azizi Abdujabbor Abdukahhor, first deputy chairman of the People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan. Tajikistan is this year's chair of the grouping and will hold the SCO heads of state summit from Sept. 16 to 17.

Speaking at the forum's opening ceremony via video link, Mr. Azizi Abdujabbor Abdukahhor noted that over the past two decades, the SCO has actively participated in regional and international affairs and gained greater international prominence.

He pointed out that SCO member states should not only carry forward the tradition of promoting good-neighborliness and friendship, but also find better ways to effectively deal with economic and social problems currently faced by all countries.

To deal with the economic impact of COVID-19, Mr. Azizi Abdujabbor Abdukahhor said that "strengthening economic and trade cooperation within the SCO framework is of vital importance."

Sharing insights on governance and leadership

Over the 30 years since the end of the Cold War, the SCO countries have painstakingly embarked on the road of reform and transformation, and explored different systems for governance with distinctive national characteristics, said Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng.

Le noted that the CPC has gained a wealth of experience in governance and has been committed to carrying out exchanges with other political parties in various countries.

He called on SCO member states to continue the tradition of solidarity and cooperation, adhere to the people-centered development philosophy, continue to carry out various forms of cooperation, and advance with the times to modernize the governance system and capacity.

Du Zhanyuan, president of China International Publishing Group, also called for in-depth cultural exchanges in the field of governance through diverse channels. 

"In the future, we need to enhance communication on experience of governance, explore new methods for people-to-people exchanges, and expand cooperation in various fields such as culture, media, tourism, think tanks and academia," Du said. "We also need to build closer ties among SCO youth and encourage them to serve as envoys for the traditional friendship, by holding forums and seminars, visits and trainings."

Leadership building is a crucial task facing all countries, Li Shulei, executive vice president of CNAG, said in his keynote speech, noting that it is particularly important to carry out leadership building cooperation under the SCO framework and enhance experience exchanges.

Li stated that the CNAG has signed memorandums of understanding and cooperation with 17 institutions in 11 SCO countries, sent nearly 300 people to SCO countries on visits and received around 1,000 people from member states. 

"Positive results have been achieved in exchanges on governance experience and cooperation in leadership building, which have become an important part of the 20-year development of the SCO," Li said.