Continuing to Cooperate for Common Development

--Yang Jiechi talks about Premier Wen Jiabao's Attendance at the Tenth Meeting of Prime Ministers of the SCO Member States

Premier Wen Jiabao, at invitation, attended the tenth Meeting of Prime Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States in St. Petersburg, Russia from November 6 to 8, 2011. On the way back to China, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi who accompanied Premier Wen during the trip introduced to the journalists Premier Wen's attendance at the Meeting and its outcome.

Yang said that Premier Wen's attendance at the Meeting is a major diplomatic activity aiming at promoting the healthy and stable growth of the SCO and the regional prosperity and stability as China holds the rotation presidency of the organization. The regional and international situation currently is complicated and fluctuating, unstable and uncertain factors of world economic recovery are on the rise. SCO member states are all faced with the pressing tasks of maintaining domestic stability, accelerating economic development and improving people's livelihood. After a decade of development, the SCO is now in the critical stage of growth and faces both challenges and opportunities. It is the common aspiration of all the member states and the main purpose of Premier Wen's participation in the Meeting to review the past, plan the future, further strengthen solidarity and mutual trust, deepen pragmatic cooperation and make a good beginning for the growth of the SCO in the next decade.

Premier Wen delivered speeches to both the small and large sessions, deeply analyzed the situation faced by the SCO and its main tasks, elaborated China's views on the development of the organization and raised proposals on deepening the SCO's pragmatic cooperation. He sent the positive message that China, as the SCO rotating presidency country, is committed to boosting the common development of all countries in the region by taking into account their long-term interest and doing practical things. He also displayed the image of China as a responsible big power, which drew wide attention from and was highly appreciated by all the participants, said Yang. The regional and international media spoke highly of Premier Wen's speeches and widely agreed the Meeting of Heads of Government is of great significance to the development of the SCO and China played a positive role during the Meeting.

Premier Wen met with the heads of government of Russia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Pakistan respectively and talked to other participating national leaders, made in-depth exchanges and reached wide consensus with them during the Meeting, which helped significantly promote China's bilateral relations with related countries and the development of the SCO.

I. Promoting the Future Development of the SCO

Yang noted that the SCO has made steady progress and fruitful results to achieve the established objectives of maintaining regional security and promoting common development since it was founded 10 years ago. During the Meeting, leaders reviewed the cooperation progress of the SCO, discussed the current regional and international economic situation and planned the next stage of the SCO's growth based on the implementation of the Astana Summit consensus.

In his speeches, Premier Wen stressed that the international landscape is experiencing profound changes and adjustments. The SCO should be able to not only stand serious tests but also seize opportunities to grow stronger, bring benefits to the people in the region and make due contributions to building a fair and reasonable new international political and economic order. He indicated that China, as the rotation presidency country of the SCO, is willing to work with other member states to actively formulate and implement the political, economic and cultural planning of the organization in the next decade. China will cooperate with other member states and make relentless efforts to achieve the established objectives and tasks of the organization and make greater contributions to world peace and development. He put forward a series of proposals on deepening the SCO's pragmatic cooperation, including further boosting economic and trade cooperation, building a multi-level and multi-channel financing cooperation system, accelerating connectivity, providing diversified energy solutions, improving food security cooperation mechanism, stepping up technology and health cooperation, enhancing youth exchanges and strengthening cooperation with the observer states.

Premier Wen's speeches and initiatives both took the long-term perspective and addressed the realistic situations, fully demonstrating the positive and pragmatic attitude of China as the rotation presidency country of the SCO. Leaders agreed that the SCO member states should cement solidarity, improve organizational construction, deepen political, economic and security cooperation under the current profoundly complicated and fluctuating international and regional situation, build the organization into a platform for promoting regional exchanges and cooperation, better maintain common interest and play a more positive role to push forward regional peace, stability and development and build a fair and reasonable new international political and economic order.

With the joint efforts of all parties, the Meeting achieved fruitful results. Leaders of member states signed the Joint Communiqué of the Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the SCO Member States, emphasizing the necessity of consolidating and developing the organization and benefiting all member states. A Joint Statement of the Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the SCO Member States on the World and the SCO Regional Economic Situation was released, stressing the significance of strengthening economic cooperation against the background of global economic and financial crisis.

II. Consolidating and Deepening China's Relations with Related Countries

Yang said that China always attaches great importance to the good-neighborly friendship and cooperative relations with other SCO member states. During the Meeting, Premier Wen held a series of bilateral meetings which helped increase China's mutual trust and cooperation with relevant countries.

Premier Wen exchanged in-depth opinions with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on China-Russia relations, world political and economic situation and other major issues of common concern in a sincere and friendly atmosphere. He pointed out that to deepen China-Russia all-round strategic partnership not only serves the fundamental interest of the Chinese and Russian people but also has realistic and far-reaching strategic significance to world peace and development. China is firmly determined to develop relations with Russia. The two sides can complement each other with advantages and carry out all-round mutually beneficial cooperation in the long run to bring greater benefits to the two peoples. Putin noted that the bilateral cooperation on politics, economy, culture and international issues has reached an unprecedented high level. Russia and China enjoy wide common interest and face common challenges. The two countries should handle the bilateral relations from a strategic height. They agreed to join hands to make greater contributions to safeguarding world peace and boosting common development.

When meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani, Premier Wen made positive comments on the progress of China-Pakistan relations in recent years and stressed that China resolutely supports Pakistan's efforts of defending national sovereignty and dignity and will, as always, provide help for Pakistan's economic and social development. Gilani thanked China for its long-term firm support for and valuable assistance to Pakistan and expressed willingness of strengthening high-level contacts and deepening cooperation with China. The two heads of government said they will implement the consensus which have been reached between the two countries and take the 60th anniversary of China-Pakistan diplomatic ties and the China-Pakistan Friendship Year as a new starting point to lift the bilateral relations to a higher level and better benefit the two peoples.

During the meeting with Kazakh Prime Minister Karim Masimov, Premier Wen said that the joint announcement of China-Kazakhstan all-round strategic partnership by President Hu Jintao and President Nursultan Nazarbayev in June this year brought the bilateral relations to a new development stage. China is willing to work with Kazakhstan to coordinate and push forward the bilateral pragmatic cooperation through the Prime Ministers' Regular Meeting Mechanism and China-Kazakhstan Cooperation Committee. Masimov thanked China for its help and support for Kazakhstan's effective handling of the international financial crisis. He believes the two countries enjoy a profound traditional friendship and fruitful pragmatic cooperation. The two sides agreed to step up strategic communications and coordination, comprehensively deepen exchanges and cooperation and advance the all-round bilateral strategic partnership.

When meeting with Tajik Prime Minister Akil Akilov, Premier Wen fully recognized the tangible benefits the bilateral cooperation had brought to the two peoples and said that China expects to work with Tajikistan to handle challenges together, deepen political mutual trust, promote pragmatic cooperation, take the opportunity of the 20th anniversary of bilateral ties to raise the bilateral good-neighborly friendship and cooperative relations to a higher level. Akilov spoke highly of the role of Tajikistan-China friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation to Tajik economic and social development and stressed that Tajikistan always takes the relations with China as one of the top priorities of its foreign relations and is willing to implement existing consensus with China and bring more benefits to the two peoples.

During the Meeting, Premier Wen took time off his busy schedule and visited the site of the middle school where Pushkin once studied and lived to pay tribute to the great Russian writer and promote China-Russia cultural exchanges. He encouraged the staffs of the Chinese embassy in Russia and representatives of Chinese-funded organizations, overseas Chinese and Chinese students abroad to reach out to the local communities, strengthen cultural exchanges and play their part to develop China-Russia friendly relations.

Yang said finally that Premier Wen's attendance at the Meeting and the results of the Meeting will lay down a solid foundation for and inject vigor into the next stage of development of the SCO, promote China's good-neighborly mutual trust and pragmatic cooperation with Russia, other SCO member states and related countries and exert a major influence on the lasting peace and common prosperity in the region.