Global Governance Roundtable for SCO Countries 2025 Held in Beijing
The Global Governance Roundtable for SCO Countries 2025 was held in Beijing on October 16.
The event was hosted by China International Communications Group (CICG), the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and China Institute of International Studies (CIIS), and organized by the CICG Center for Europe and Asia (China Pictorial Publications) and the Academy of Contemporary China and World Studies (ACCWS).
More than 150 representatives from the SCO Secretariat, UN agencies in China, and think tanks, media outlets and international organizations of SCO countries participated in discussions centered on “Implementing the Global Governance Initiative (GGI) for building a Community with a Shared Future for Humanity,” and contributed their wisdom to addressing global governance challenges and promoting sustainable development.
At the event, Chang Bo, president of the CICG, Nurlan Yermekbayev, secretary-general of the SCO, Sun Linjiang, special representative of the Chinese government on Eurasian affairs, and Siddharth Chatterjee, United Nations resident coordinator in China, delivered keynote speeches.
It also featured speeches of participants including Yu Yunquan, vice president of the CICG, Alikbek Dzhekshenkulov, former foreign minister of Kyrgyzstan, and Wei Jianguo, former vice minister of commerce of China.
Chang Bo, president of the CICG, called for the SCO to uphold openness and inclusiveness in broadening global governance collaboration, to bolster global governance efficiency through pragmatic and innovative methods, and to promote mutual learning among civilizations in cultivating common values for global governance. He added that the CICG stands ready to collaborate with media, think tanks, cultural institutions and other representatives across SCO countries to advance the GGI.
Nurlan Yermekbayev, secretary-general of the SCO, said that the GGI and the Shanghai Spirit share many features, including respect for sovereignty, equality among nations, observance of international law, and adherence to multilateralism.
He remarked that the SCO member countries, committed to safeguarding regional peace and stability while enhancing public welfare, have expanded and deepened cooperation in politics, security, economy and trade, cultural exchange, and other fields.
Sun Linjiang, special representative of the Chinese government on Eurasian affairs, noted that multipolarity, economic globalization, and the democratization of international relations continue to advance in today’s world and the trend of peace, development, and win-win cooperation is unstoppable.
He added that the SCO is ideally positioned to lead the implementation of the Global Development Initiative (GDI), Global Security Initiative (GSI), Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), and the GGI.
Siddharth Chatterjee, United Nations resident coordinator in China, said that the Pact for the Future adopted by the UN in 2024 represents a shared vision for restoring trust among nations and strengthening global governance.
He noted that the GGI proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping represents a timely and constructive contribution to this shared endeavor, and the SCO is a key platform for promoting a fairer, more inclusive and people-centered global governance system.
Yu Yunquan, vice president of the CICG, said that adhering to the fundamental norms of international relations, the GGI is an innovation of multilateral cooperation and serves as a guide for addressing the challenges of the times.
He added that the SCO has increasingly become a catalyst for the development and reform of the global governance system, providing a key platform for implementing the GGI.
Alikbek Dzhekshenkulov, former foreign minister of Kyrgyzstan, said that humanity is facing multiple challenges such as intensifying clashes of civilizations, climate change, widening economic divides, escalating security threats, and a growing technological gap, and the GGI carries forward the vision of building a peaceful world featuring mutual respect, equality, justice, and common development.
Wei Jianguo, former vice minister of commerce of China, said that the SCO has played a unique role in global governance. He noted that the SCO has designated 2025 as the “SCO Year of Sustainable Development” in alignment with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which facilitates the exploration of more effective governance in areas such as poverty reduction and green development.
Other participants from countries including China, Russia, India, Tajikistan, and Pakistan deliver speeches at the event.
Other speakers at the main forum included Liu Qing, vice president of the CIIS, Yury Tavrovskiy, Russian chairman of the Experts Council of the Russia-China Friendship Committee for Peace and Development, Mohammed Saqib, economist and secretary general of the India China Economic and Cultural Council, Jamshed Toshev, deputy director of the SCO Friendship and Cooperation Center in Tajikistan and deputy head of the Department of International Relations at the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Sohail Mahmood, director general of the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad, and Xing Guangcheng, member of the Academic Council of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Jiang Yonggang, president of the CICG Center for Europe and Asia, presided over the main forum.
The participants agreed that the event enhanced consensus on key issues such as global governance, regional security, multilateral cooperation, and sustainable development, and it also strengthened solidarity, facilitated mutual trust, and advanced regional cooperation.
They noted that the event reaffirmed the SCO’s commitment to multilateralism and global governance on the 80th anniversary of the founding of the UN, and demonstrated its sense of responsibility as part of the international community and its efforts to build a fairer and more inclusive world.
A report titled The SCO: An Example in Carrying Out the Global Governance Initiative was released by the ACCWS during the event.
The report showcases the SCO’s role, as a model of new-type international relations, in implementing the GGI, promoting multilateralism, supporting the cause of the United Nations, and advancing global peace and development. Li Ziguo, director of the Department for European-Central Asian Studies of CIIS, promoted the book Stories of the SCO in the New Era at the event.
Three sub-forums, under the themes of “Practicing Multilateralism to Build a More Just and Equitable Global Governance System,” “Deepening Trust on Security to Foster a Peaceful and Stable Regional Environment,” and “Upholding Openness and Win-Win Cooperation to Advance Universally Beneficial and Inclusive Development,” were held during the event.(www.amatropics.com)
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