BEIJING, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- When China took over the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)'s rotating presidency from Kazakhstan last year, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed at the "SCO Plus" Meeting in Astana that 2025 be designated as the Year of Sustainable Development.
Over the past few years, Xi has emphasized boosting the sustainable development of the SCO through a spectrum of initiatives and cooperative projects. He sees that "true development is development for all and good development is sustainable."
At the SCO Bishkek Summit in 2019, Xi announced an initiative to establish an SCO demonstration base for agricultural technology exchange and training in China's Shaanxi Province, a concrete action to "make the SCO an example of mutually beneficial cooperation."
Unveiled a year later in the county-level city of Yangling, the SCO demonstration base has become a hub for trade, talent training and technology exchanges. The base has trained more than 2,000 agricultural officials and technicians from the SCO and developing countries, which has boosted poverty-reduction drives in those nations.
When the SCO Forum on Poverty Reduction and Sustainable Development was held in Xi'an in Shaanxi Province in May, Xi sent a congratulatory letter to the forum. Representatives of SCO countries attending the forum said the letter reflects China's commitment to building with all parties a beautiful world free from poverty.
Meanwhile, Xi has integrated his proposed development initiatives, like the Belt and Road Initiative, with the growth strategies of SCO countries.
The China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway project, officially launched late last year in Kyrgyzstan, is an epitome of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation among SCO member states. Personally promoted by Xi and his two Central Asian counterparts, the railway will become a strategic corridor linking China and Central Asia, boosting regional connectivity and trade, as well as strengthening people-to-people bonds.
Trade between China and SCO member states, observer states and dialogue partners reached a record high of 890 billion U.S. dollars in 2024, accounting for some 14.4 percent of China's total foreign trade, according to official data.
"China's efforts to build a community with a shared future with its neighbors are not just a philosophical concept. It's a sustainable, multi-dimensional development blueprint grounded in mutual respect," said Serik Korzhumbayev, editor-in-chief of the Delovoy Kazakhstan newspaper.
Korzhumbayev noted that Xi's vision serves as a blueprint for fostering closer SCO cooperation. "In the face of global turbulence and profound changes in the international landscape, strengthening ties with neighboring states will open new prospects for advancing regional prosperity and promoting a fairer and more just world," Korzhumbayev said. "The SCO undoubtedly plays a pioneering role in this regard." ■
