Xi Jinping Opposes "Acts of Bullying"
China's Investment in SCO Member States Surpasses 117 Trillion Won
Leaders from Over 20 Countries Including Russia and India Attend
China has announced its intention to elevate the level of cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a coalition led by China and Russia, by establishing a security threat response center and a development bank.
On September 1, during his speech at the 25th SCO Council of Heads of State meeting held in Tianjin, China, President Xi Jinping stated, "We will promptly launch a comprehensive center for responding to security threats and challenges, as well as a narcotics control center. We will also expedite the establishment of the SCO Development Bank to provide stronger support for security and economic cooperation among member states."
President Xi indirectly criticized the United States, saying, "We must promote a correct understanding of World War II history and oppose Cold War mentality, bloc confrontation, and acts of bullying."
He further asserted, "We should safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core and the multilateral trading system centered on the World Trade Organization (WTO). We must advocate for an equal and orderly multipolar world and universally beneficial economic globalization, thereby advancing the establishment of a fairer and more rational global governance system."
He introduced that, to date, China's investment in SCO member states has exceeded 84 billion dollars (approximately 117 trillion won), and the annual bilateral trade volume between China and individual member countries has surpassed 500 billion dollars (about 696 trillion won).
Additionally, he announced plans for 100 "small but beautiful" (xiao er mei) livelihood projects to provide short-term funding and other support to SCO member states in need of Chinese investment. He also revealed that China intends to offer 2 billion yuan (about 390 billion won) in grant aid within this year. Furthermore, over the next three years, member banks of the banking consortium will receive 10 billion yuan (about 1.95 trillion won) in new loans.
The SCO is a multilateral consultative body established in 2001 by China and Russia together with four Central Asian countries: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan. Since then, India and Pakistan joined in 2017, Iran in 2023, and Belarus in 2024, bringing the total number of member states to ten.
While the SCO initially focused on security cooperation such as counterterrorism and combating separatism, it has recently expanded its collaboration into various fields including economic and cultural sectors, especially as tensions between China-Russia and Western blocs have intensified.
China is emphasizing that this SCO summit is the "largest ever." More than 20 heads of state, including President Xi Jinping, President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India, President Masoud Pezeshkian of Iran, and representatives from 10 international organizations, are attending.
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