Summit deepens ties in wide range of fields

President Xi Jinping said on Sunday that broad consensus had been reached at the 18th Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit as leaders endorsed the Qingdao Declaration and a joint statement on trade facilitation.

The summit also ratified a five-year action plan for implementing the Treaty on Long-Term Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation of the SCO Member States, a cooperation program to combat terrorism, separatism and extremism, and a SCO drug control strategy and its action plan.

Other documents were also approved dealing with cooperation on food security and environmental protection, and a memorandum of understanding on cooperation between the SCO Secretariat and UNESCO.

The leaders also witnessed the signing of a number of documents covering cooperation in sectors including business, customs, tourism and foreign exchanges.

On behalf of leaders of the SCO member states, Xi said at a media briefing that all parties had agreed to increase unity and cooperation and deepen the partnership that advocates peace and reform, equal treatment, openness, and inclusiveness and win-win outcomes.

Vladimir Potapenko, deputy secretary-general of the SCO, said the Qingdao summit was the most fruitful meeting that the organization had held so far.

Other than the large number of cooperation documents to come out from the summit, Potapenko said the SCO Secretariat had also heeded many good proposals from the leaders of member countries.

"In the next step, it is our job to see them through," he said.

Addressing reporters, Xi said that security is the foundation of the development of SCO. All parties involved will uphold a joint, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security concept.

He said SCO members will further exchanges on counterterrorism intelligence and joint actions.

"With the global economy faced with difficulties and setbacks in its recovery and with frequent front-burner issues regionally and internationally, no country can cope alone or stand unscathed," Xi said.

The SCO leaders have agreed to safeguard the authority and effectiveness of WTO rules, consolidate the open, inclusive, transparent, nondiscriminatory and rules-based multilateral trade system, Xi said.

Cooperation through the Belt and Road Initiative and docking of development strategies will also be reinforced, and cooperation in sectors including business, investment, finance, connectivity and agriculture will be enhanced to promote trade and investment facilitation and inject new momentum into the world economy, he said.

The leaders have agreed to continue to conduct fruitful bilateral and multilateral cooperation in areas including culture, education, science and technology, environmental protection, health, tourism, youth, media and sports on the basis of mutual respect of cultural diversity and social values.

The summit also highlights the importance of expanding international exchange and cooperation for the SCO, and all parties are willing to deepen cooperation with observer state and dialogue partners, as well as dialogue and exchanges with UN and other international or regional organizations.