Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday urged regional leaders to resist \u201cexternal interference\u201d at a gathering of a Eurasian security bloc touted by Beijing and Moscow as a counterbalance to Western power. <\/p>\n
Addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)\u2019s annual leaders\u2019 summit in Kazakhstan, Xi called on member states to \u201cconsolidate the power of unity\u201d in the face of \u201cthe real challenge of interference and division.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cWe should work together to resist external interference \u2026 and firmly grasp our own future and destiny, as well as regional peace and development, in our own hands,\u201d Xi was quoted as saying by Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. <\/p>\n
The 10-member bloc must handle internal differences with peace, seek common ground, and resolve difficulties in cooperation, Xi added. <\/p>\n
Founded in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan to combat terrorism and promote border security, the SCO has grown in recent years as Beijing and Moscow drive a transformation of the bloc from a regional security club with a focus on Central Asia to a geopolitical counterweight to Western institutions led by the United States and its allies. <\/p>\n
On Thursday, Belarus, a staunch Russian ally that helped Moscow launch its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, became the latest authoritarian state to join the SCO, after Iran became a full member last year. The bloc underwent its first expansion in 2017 to welcome India and Pakistan. <\/p>\n
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was notably absent from this year\u2019s event, further adding to the perception of the SCO\u2019s anti-Western orientation. <\/p>\n
At the summit, Xi warned against what he called \u201cthe real threat of Cold War mentality\u201d and called on member states to \u201cuphold our security baseline.\u201d <\/p>\n
He also urged countries to safeguard the right to development in the face of the \u201creal risks of small yards with high fences,\u201d referring to a strategy adopted by the US to restrict key technologies from China. <\/p>\n
The Chinese leader stressed the need to jointly promote scientific and technological innovation, and to maintain the stability and smoothness of industrial and supply chains. <\/p>\n
On the eve of the summit, Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin \u2013 the two leaders driving the SCO\u2019s expansion \u2013 met on the sidelines and hailed their countries\u2019 deepening alignment. <\/p>\n
In opening remarks ahead of their bilateral meeting, Putin said Russia-China relations are going through \u201cthe best period in their history\u201d and should be considered a \u201cstabilizing\u201d force for the world. <\/p>\n
\u201cRussian-Chinese cooperation in global affairs serves as a main stabilizing factor on the international stage, and we continue to further enhance it,\u201d Putin told Xi on Wednesday. <\/p>\n
The Russian president also underscored Moscow and Beijing\u2019s roles \u201cat the cradle\u201d of the SCO\u2019s founding and noted its rapid expansion in recent years. <\/p>\n
\u201cAs the number of participants grew \u2026 the SCO also gained a bigger role as one of the key pillars of a just multipolar world order,\u201d Putin said. <\/p>\n
The meeting marks the two leaders\u2019 second face-to-face talks in just two months following Putin\u2019s visit to Beijing in May and comes shortly after the Russian president struck a landmark defense pact with North Korea. <\/p>\n
Much to the consternation of the US and Europe, China and Russia have deepened their political, economic and military ties since Putin and Xi declared a \u201cno limits\u201d partnership in February 2022 when the Russian leader visited Beijing, weeks before his full-scale invasion of Ukraine. <\/p>\n
China has surpassed the European Union to become Russia\u2019s top trade partner, offering a crucial lifeline to its heavily sanctioned economy. The two nuclear-armed neighbors have also continued to hold joint military exercises, including with Iran. <\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the US has accused China of providing Russia with dual-use goods that bolster the warring nation\u2019s military industrial complex as it attacks Ukraine, which Beijing denies. <\/p>\n
In his opening remarks Wednesday, Xi told Putin that China and Russia should \u201ckeep upholding the original aspiration\u201d of their \u201clasting friendship\u201d in the face of \u201can international situation fraught with turbulence and changes.\u201d <\/p>\n
Xi also hailed the \u201cunique value\u201d in China-Russia relations, urging the two countries to make new efforts to safeguard their \u201clegitimate rights and interests\u201d and \u201cthe basic norms governing international relations.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cChina and Russia should continue to strengthen comprehensive strategic coordination, oppose external interference and jointly safeguard regional tranquility and stability,\u201d Xi said, according to a readout from China\u2019s Foreign Ministry. <\/p>\n
This story has been updated with additional information.<\/em> <\/p>\n<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday urged regional leaders to resist \u201cexternal interference\u201d at a gathering of a Eurasian security bloc touted by Beijing and Moscow as a counterbalance to Western power. Addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)\u2019s annual leaders\u2019 summit in Kazakhstan, Xi called on member states to \u201cconsolidate the power of unity\u201d in <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4716,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4715","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4716"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitaltradecenter.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}