Speech by Xi Jinping at the 26th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (Full Text)

Promote higher-quality development of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

— Address at the 26th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization

(September 1, 2026, Bishkek)

President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping

Your Excellency President Japarov,

Dear colleagues:

It is a great pleasure to gather with all my colleagues in Bishkek. I would like to express my gratitude to President Japarov for the meticulous arrangements he has made for this meeting. Since Kyrgyzstan assumed the presidency, it has focused on the theme “Working Together Toward Sustainable Peace, Development, and Prosperity,” organizing a wide range of activities and achieving remarkable results, which China highly commends.

August 31 and September 1 mark the 35th anniversaries of the independence of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, respectively. On this occasion, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to President Japarov, President Mirziyoyev, and to the friendly peoples of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Twenty-five years ago, in the wake of the profound lessons of the Cold War, the pressing threat posed by the “three forces,” and the earnest aspirations of peoples across nations for peace and development, a shared commitment to safeguarding sovereignty, security, and development interests emerged as a broad consensus among regional countries. It was against this backdrop that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was established, and since then it has steadily demonstrated robust vitality and dynamism.

Over the past 25 years, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has traversed an extraordinary journey. Its most significant achievement is its steady evolution into a new type of regional cooperation organization that boasts the largest geographical footprint, the largest population, and immense development potential. Its most precious spiritual legacy is the pioneering formulation and consistent adherence to the “Shanghai Spirit”—mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diverse civilizations, and the pursuit of common development. Its most important lesson in cooperation is having found the right path of peaceful coexistence—non‑alignment, non‑confrontation, and non‑targeting of third parties—thereby fostering joint efforts among regional countries to build a shared home.

Today, 25 years later, the world is undergoing profound and accelerating changes unseen in a century, with dialogue and confrontation, win-win cooperation and zero-sum games, multilateralism and unilateralism locked in fierce competition—while the shadow of war has yet to recede. At this critical juncture that bears on the future and destiny of humanity, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization must shoulder its historic responsibilities and proactively steer the course of history.

First, we must uphold development as the top priority and forge a future of shared prosperity. We should champion an inclusive and universally beneficial economic globalization, strengthen cooperation in traditional areas such as trade and investment, connectivity, and energy and resources, and expand collaboration in emerging fields like artificial intelligence, the digital economy, green industries, and green minerals, thereby advancing regional cooperation in a more substantive, high‑quality manner.

China regards the Shanghai Cooperation Organization as a priority region for high-quality joint efforts to build the Belt and Road Initiative and for implementing the Global Development Initiative. In line with the development needs of the region, China will continue to host events such as the SCO Digital Economy Forum and the Agricultural Expo, establish an international cooperation center for AI applications serving SCO member states, and work with these countries to advance new projects involving tens of gigawatts of photovoltaic and wind power capacity. Over the next three years, China will jointly launch 100 science and technology cooperation projects with SCO member states and further develop talent in green industries through the China–SCO initiative. China welcomes interested member states to actively participate in the “Sharing a Vast Market—Exporting to China” series of activities and to proactively seize the opportunities presented by China’s ultra-large-scale market. To facilitate trade and ensure smooth logistics within the region, China supports enhancing the quality and efficiency of the Trans-Caspian International Transport Corridor and will establish the China–SCO Port Economic Cooperation Center in Tianjin.

Second, we must prioritize security and foster an environment of universal safety. We should adopt a holistic approach to addressing both traditional and non-traditional security threats, combat the “three forces,” transnational organized crime, drug trafficking, and telecom fraud, strengthen cooperation on information, bio-, and outer-space security, and firmly prevent external forces from interfering in the internal affairs of countries, undermining political security, and destabilizing the region.

China stands ready to work with all parties to uphold the vision of common, comprehensive, cooperative, and sustainable security, and to make the Shanghai Cooperation Organization an important platform for implementing the Global Security Initiative. China advocates a nuclear safety outlook characterized by rationality, coordination, and progress, and supports strengthening multilateral partnerships on nuclear safety. China also supports the early operationalization of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s “Four Centers for Security,” thereby enhancing member states’ capacity to address security threats and challenges.

Third, we must remain people-centered and strengthen the foundations of enduring friendship across generations. The region is distinguished by its rich diversity of civilizations and cultures. We should take into account the historical traditions, social systems, and stages of development of all countries, establish cooperative networks among legislative bodies, political parties, educational institutions, think tanks, enterprises, and media, and foster people-to-people exchanges, thereby injecting new vitality into the good‑neighborly relations among member states.

China stands ready to work with all parties to implement the Global Civilization Initiative, support civil society organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Committee on Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation in playing an even greater role, and successfully host the SCO Forum on Innovation and Sustainable Development as well as the Forums on People-to-People Exchanges and Sister Cities. China will establish the China–SCO Center for Basic Education Cooperation and remains committed to continuing to build bridges of exchange and mutual learning and foster closer ties between peoples through initiatives such as the Confucius Institutes and the Luban Workshops.

Fourth, we must uphold dialogue and consultation and improve fair and orderly governance. We should ensure that all countries, large or small, are treated equally; promote joint consultation and consensus‑building on regional issues, seeking common ground while accommodating differences; resolve disputes and differences through dialogue and negotiation; and address shared challenges through multilateral cooperation. President Mirziyoyev and President Tokayev have successively put forward the Samarkand Initiative for Solidarity and the Initiative for Countries to Unite in Promoting a Just, Harmonious, and Prosperous World, both of which China has welcomed and supported.

China supports the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in launching pilot cooperation to implement the Global Governance Initiative. The recent “SCO Plus” meeting, which focused on strengthening the role of the United Nations and building a multipolar world, represents a successful endeavor. China proposes continuing to refine the SCO’s operational mechanisms to enhance decision-making and implementation efficiency. We welcome more like-minded countries to become partners and jointly contribute to improving regional and global governance. On international and regional flashpoints such as Ukraine, the Middle East, and Afghanistan, China stands ready to strengthen communication and coordination with all parties, adhere to a holistic approach that addresses both symptoms and root causes, and advance political solutions.

Dear colleagues!

Remaining true to our original aspiration, we will press forward undaunted by distance; steadfast in our resolve, we will prevail despite all difficulties. China stands ready to work with all parties to continue upholding the “Shanghai Spirit,” implement the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Development Strategy for the Next Decade, strive for higher‑quality development, and make even greater contributions to building a community with a shared future for mankind.

Finally, we congratulate Prime Minister Shehbaz on assuming the chairmanship of the Council of Heads of State. China stands ready to work with all member states to actively support Pakistan’s presidency.

Thank you, everyone.

(Xinhua, Bishkek, September 1)