From July 8 to 10, 2015, President Xi Jinping upon invitation attended the 7th BRICS Summit and the 15th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Ufa, Russia. At the end of the journey, Foreign Minister Wang Yi briefed journalists on the visit.

Wang Yi said that the current holding of the BRICS Summit and the Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO Member States in the same place at the same time “is a coincidence, but not by chance”. The BRICS mechanism and the SCO are multilateral cooperation frameworks with emerging markets and other developing countries as the main body, and are important platforms of solidarity and cooperation among emerging forces of the current world. The gathering of President Xi Jinping and nearly 20 state leaders from the 5 BRICS countries and the Eurasian region in the ancient city of Ufa is meant to deepen solidarity and cooperation among the BRICS countries, promote in-depth development of the SCO, uplift major bilateral relations, push forward the “Belt and Road” construction, consolidate the victory results of World War II (WWII), and safeguard the international order with the United Nations (UN) as the core. The current visit is practical and efficient, with the Summit and the Meeting connected, multilateral and bilateral corresponding to each other, and political security and economic cooperation developing together, yielding fruitful results. In just three days, President Xi Jinping attended altogether 25 activities of the Summit and the Meeting, held talks with seven heads of state and heads of government, delivered important speeches at multiple occasions, and signed and issued with various parties 23 joint statements, communiqués, declarations, and cooperation agreements in various fields. The domestic and foreign public paid high attention to the current visit, universally holding that the Summit and the Meeting highlighted the constructive role of China, promoted the two major cooperation mechanisms of the BRICS and the SCO for new development opportunities, and further uplifted the strategic mutual trust between China and relevant countries.

I. Deepen the BRICS cooperation and foster a community of common interests

Wang Yi said that the BRICS Summit mechanism was initiated in Russia in 2009. The five emerging markets from Asia, Africa, Europe and America, upholding international fairness and justice and committed to promoting world economic growth and enhancing global economic governance, have gone through a remarkable history, with the influence, impact and status in international affairs continuously rising. At present, the BRICS cooperation is faced with some complicated factors, including the economic downward pressure brought by the slow growth around the world. Some discord is heard from the outside from time to time badmouthing the development prospect of the BRICS countries and questioning the effectiveness of the BRICS cooperation. In this context, the returning of the leaders of the BRICS countries to Russia after six years with the Summit themed as “BRICS Partnership --- Highly Potent Factor in Global Development” reflected the member states’ firm determination to explore potential advantages and develop hand in hand and strongly sounded the bugle of the BRICS cooperation acceleration in the new situation.

President Xi Jinping pointed out clearly at the Summit that the BRICS countries boast gigantic development potentials and the ascending trend will not change. The more challenges we meet, the firmer determination we should hold. Centering around the establishment of the BRICS partnership, President Xi Jinping comprehensively and systematically expounded China’s policies and propositions to strengthen the BRICS cooperation, and called on the member countries to jointly build a four-pronged partnership -- safeguarding world peace, boosting common development, promoting diversified civilization and strengthening global governance. President Xi Jinping also made a four-point proposal on how to deepen the BRICS cooperation, namely implementing major achievements and proposals to underline the BRICS executive force; planning key areas of cooperation to strengthen the BRICS centripetal force; exploring respective advantageous potentials to strengthen the BRICS competitiveness; and advocating common philosophy and pursuit to increase the BRICS charisma. In addition, President Xi Jinping vividly pointed out that the BRICS countries are just like the five fingers, each having its own strengths, and together forming a clenched fist. President Xi Jinping’s speech accurately seized the pulse of the time with a long-term and simple but profound perspective, boosted the confidence and cohesion of the BRICS countries, depicted the bright prospect of the BRICS, and thus received universal acceptance and recognition among the countries present at the Summit.

President Xi Jinping stressed that the BRICS cooperation is practical and effective rather than idle and fruitless. Under the coordination and promotion of President Xi Jinping and other state leaders, the BRICS cooperation has gained in-depth and concrete development continuously and reached a higher level. The Summit decided to establish a closer BRICS partnership, and issued the Ufa Declaration and its action plan, the BRICS Economic Partnership Strategy and other important documents, providing guidance and charting the course for the future development of the BRICS countries. The New Development Bank (NDB) has gained new and important progress in its preparation work and will come into full operation and initiate the first group of cooperation projects within this year. It will provide financial support for the development of the BRICS and other emerging markets, and add momentum to the global economic and financial governance reform. The NDB has its headquarters in Shanghai. As the host, China will play its due role for and make its unique contributions to the development of this new institution. The Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) of the BRICS has completed all formalities, which not only strengthened the ties of interests among the BRICS countries, but also added new aspects to the global financial security network. The rapid progress in financial cooperation among the BRICS countries forms a conducive attempt to reform and improve the international financial system, and will vigorously enhance the global voice and international influence of developing countries.

II. Promote the SCO development and build a community of common destiny

Wang Yi said that the SCO is an important platform for maintaining security and stability and promoting common development in the region. At present, the international and regional situation is undergoing profound and complicated changes, and the SCO has entered a critical period of development, with opportunities and challenges synchronously increasing. But opportunities clearly outweigh challenges, resulting in a brighter prospect of development. President Xi Jinping’s attendance at the current Summit focused on promoting the SCO development for new breakthrough. President Xi Jinping made a five-point major proposal, with adherence to the “Shanghai Spirit” on the top of the list. He stressed that the “Shanghai Spirit” featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect to diversified civilizations, and pursuit of common development represents the development direction of current international relations, and should become the spiritual bond in building the community of common destiny in the region. At the same time, all parties should strengthen the capability to act and consolidate the protective screen of regional security, deeply explore cooperation potential and enrich the content of practical cooperation, promote amity between the peoples and consolidate good-neighborly friendship for generations, and keep opening up and mutual learning and push forward the development of the SCO. These propositions charted the course for the development of the SCO in a certain period to come.

President Xi Jinping put forward a series of major initiatives at the Summit, which injected strong impetus into practical cooperation of the SCO. President Xi Jinping stressed that on the aspect of security, all parties should start drafting the Convention against Extremism as soon as possible and accelerate the establishment of the Center for Coping with Security Threats and Challenges; on aspect of economy, all parties should do a good job in integration and cooperation between the Silk Road Economic Belt and development strategies of all countries as well as the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU). China is willing to, through the Silk Road Fund, the China-Eurasian Economic Cooperation Fund and other platforms, meet the investment needs of the SCO member states, expand the experience of bilateral cooperation in production capacity to a wider scope in the SCO, establish industrial parks in all member states, push forward trade and investment liberalization, and provide support for the establishment of the SCO Development Bank. All these initiatives received welcome and positive response from all parties.

President Xi Jinping and other state leaders approved the SCO Development Strategy by 2025, which pictures a clear blueprint for the SCO cooperation in the next 10 years, and signed such important documents as the SCO Member States Border Defense Cooperation Agreement and the Cooperation Outline on Combating Terrorism, Separatism and Extremism among the SCO Member States from 2016 to 2018, which bettered the legal foundation for security cooperation. In particular, the Summit adopted the resolution to launch the procedure of India’s and Pakistan’s accession to the SCO, and accepted Belarus as an observer state and Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia and Nepal as dialogue partners of the SCO. This is the most important organizational transformation since the SCO’s establishment. It is conducive to improving the SCO’s representativeness and international status, and will exert profound influence on the future development of the SCO. An SCO with full vitality and continuous development will definitely make greater contributions to the peace and stability of the region.

III. Advocating win-win cooperation and transmitting China’s positive energy

Wang Yi said that on various occasions of the Summit and the Meeting, President Xi Jinping, focusing on the international situation and embracing the principal thread of win-win cooperation, profoundly elaborated China’s major diplomatic principles, powerfully steering the development direction of the two major cooperation platforms from the strategic aspect and sounding China’s voice on international arena. In the BRICS Summit, President Xi Jinping clearly proposed that all parties should build the new type of international relations with win-win cooperation as the core so as to tackle the global issues on how to make the world a better place, let people live more happily, and make various countries live in peace. President Xi Jinping pointed out that in order to establish this new type of international relations, all parties must stick to peaceful development and reject hegemony and war, adhere to multilateralism and promote democratization and legalization of international relations, reform and improve global economic governance and construct an open world economy, and establish the new-type global development partnership and let the development achievements fairly benefit every corner of the world. President Xi Jinping said that all parties should make it possible for our descendants to learn from the history book that the BRICS countries adhere to peaceful development with no war, no colonization, and no imposing of one’s will on others; concentrate on developing economy and improving people’s livelihood and persisting in doing their own jobs well; and practice mutual respect and mutual trust as well as win-win cooperation and promote common development of all countries with their own development. All the state leaders present totally agreed to this vision.

While attending the leaders dialogue between BRICS countries as well as the SCO, the EEU and the invited countries, facing the leaders of emerging markets and other developing countries, President Xi Jinping stressed once again that all parties should establish the awareness of solidarity, mutual help and mutual support to build the partnership of win-win cooperation. The initiative of the “Belt and Road” construction is open, and also inclusive, and China is willing to integrate it with the strategic development plans of other countries. President Xi Jinping also deeply elaborated China’s neighboring diplomatic concept of amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness and the neighboring diplomatic policy of “being a good neighbor and partner”. Those in-depth communication and exchanges speeded up the transition of China’s proposals to international consensus, allowing the international community to have a more precise understanding of China’s strategic intention and making clear that China’s development is the growth of peaceful strength as well as the growth of the world positive energy. The leaders present at the dialogue all expressed their willingness to strengthen cooperation and enhance coordination with China so as to form joint forces in regional and international affairs.

For all mankind, this year is a memorable year. President Xi Jinping on several occasions of the Summit and the Meeting called upon all countries to treasure the outcomes of the WWII victory, safeguard the principles and purposes of the UN Charter and oppose any attempt or act to deny, distort or tamper the WWII history, which received broad agreement from the participating countries. The outcome documents of the BRICS Summit clearly stated against the militarism and fascism. The SCO Summit specially issued the Statement on the 70th Anniversary of the Victory of the World Anti-Fascist War and World War II, expressing the common ground of cherishing the memory of revolutionary martyrs, maintaining the outcomes of the WWII victory, and establishing the new type of international relations. The Statement, which spoke highly of the heroism and contributions of the Chinese people in the war against militarism and fascism, made the international community look forward even more to the commemorations of the 70th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, which will be held in China in early September.

IV. Boosting friendly relations and building mutually beneficial cooperation framework

Wang Yi said that the multilateral meeting is often an important platform for bilateral exchanges as well. While attending the Summit and the Meeting, President Xi Jinping intensively met with relevant state leaders, and exchanged in-depth views with them on bilateral relations as well as international and regional topics of common interest, further boosting solidarity, mutual trust and mutually beneficial cooperation with these countries. Right after his arrival in Ufa, President Xi Jinping held a bilateral meeting with President Vladimir Putin. The two state leaders reached further consensus on promoting all-round practical cooperation and deepening international coordination and decided through consultation to step up the integration and cooperation between the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and that of the EEU, to jointly push forward the launching of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the NDB for early operation, to accelerate cooperation in large strategic projects in such fields as finance, energy, high-speed rails, electric power, aerospace and aviation, and to run the 2016-2017 China-Russia Media Exchange Year successfully. President Xi Jinping held this year’s second meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India and the two sides decided through consultation to speed up flagship cooperation projects in such fields as railways and industrial parks, to integrate the two countries’ respective development strategies and initiatives, and to enhance coordination in climatic change and other major international schedules. While meeting with President Jacob Zuma of South Africa, the two state leaders agreed to make the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), which will be held in South Africa this year, a grand meeting to strengthen China-Africa solidarity and seek future cooperation together. After the Ufa Summit, Uzbekistan will take over the host country of the SCO. While meeting with President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan, the two state leaders said that they will jointly promote the SCO’s development in the direction of closer unity, more practical cooperation and more effective action. President Xi Jinping also met with the leaders of Brazil, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries, and reached new consensus with them on increasing mutual trust and deepening cooperation. What was of special concern was that the leaders of China, Russia and Mongolia held the second meeting during the Ufa Summit, and the trilateral cooperation made substantive breakthrough. The three parties signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the Planning Outline of the China-Russia-Mongolia Economic Corridor, launching this historical process, and issued the Mid-Term Roadmap of the Trilateral Cooperation, specifying the general direction of the trilateral cooperation.

Wang Yi said in the end that President Xi Jinping’s current attendance at the Ufa Summit opened the prelude of China’s diplomacy in the second half of the year. President Xi Jinping profoundly expounded China’s propositions, boosting all parties’ confidence. Active promotion of practical cooperation and enhancement of all parties’ solidarity played an important role for the BRICS and the SCO to take new steps and achieve new breakthrough. The visit harvested a complete success. In the second half of this year, the international community will jointly commemorate the 70th anniversary of the victory of the World Anti-Fascist War, and will also work together to formulate the post-2015 Development Agenda and conclude the negotiations on the new global agreement on coping with climate change. We should seriously implement the important outcomes of President Xi Jinping’s visit, further well forge the two platforms of the BRICS and the SCO, keep strengthening cooperation with other emerging markets and developing countries, firmly serve the overall situation of development, reform and stability at home, and constantly advance the lofty cause of world peace and development.