Xi attends summit, meets with leaders
New SCO members to contribute to global fight against terrorism
The anti-terror efforts by members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), including the newly included India and Pakistan, will significantly contribute to the global fight against terrorism which has become rampant due to a lack of sufficient international cooperation, according to Chi- nese experts.
Leaders of the SCO member states strongly condemned all forms of terrorism, according to a statement on joint efforts against international terrorism released after the conclusion of the 17th SCO summit in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, on Friday.
Chinese President Xi Jinping addressed the 17th
SCO summit in Kazakhstan, where he met with leaders from SCO countries, including his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, and called for more cooperation on a variety of significant issues, including the Belt and Road initiative.
Back in 2013 in Kazakhstan, Xi first proposed the Silk Road Economic Belt, starting the process of Belt and Road initiative.
An anti-extremism convention was also signed during the summit.
The two documents were praised by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev as SCO’s “significant contribution to the struggle against that global evil,” the Kazinform International News Agency reported on Friday.
Since its establishment in 2001, the SCO has effectively helped the region, where terrorists have been wildly active, to reduce the threat of terrorism through various methods such as bilateral or multilateral cooperation, Li Wei, an anti-terror expert at the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, told the Global Times on Friday.
The SCO’s mechanism and practice could also serve as an example for global anti-terrorism efforts, which seems to have no clue now with several terrorist attacks, Li noted.
Military cooperation
The 2017 SCO summit also witnessed the expansion of the organization, as India and Pakistan became full members of the bloc.
According to a press communiqué released after the summit, granting India and Pakistan membership at the SCO summit will also boost the organization’s development and potential.
Xi has congratulated India while meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said at a Friday briefing.
Xi stated China’s willingness to strengthen cooperation with India under the SCO framework and jointly make positive contribution to the sound and steady development of the SCO.
For India, becoming a SCO member could expand its influence beyond South Asia and get a closer link with Russia and Central Asia countries, Qian Feng, an expert at the Chinese Association for South Asian Studies, told the Global Times on Friday.
India and Pakistan will add more vitality to the bloc’s economic and security cooperation, while also presenting challenges to the unity among the member states due to the relations between the two countries, said experts.
The membership also means a lot for Pakistan, which has a strong need to develop its economy after years of suffering caused by the war on terrorism, Qian said.
However, by joining the organization, the two countries at least have shown their intent to reduce conflicts and confrontation under the framework of the SCO, said Li.
Li added that it also brings a chance for China to cooperate with the two countries on antiterror activities.
Meanwhile, China could enhance joint military drills against terrorism with Pakistan and similar drills are also possible with India, said Li.
Echoing Li, Qian added that joint drills could help reduce confrontation between the two countries and focus their security efforts on anti-terrorism.
However, uncertainty remains as to how to coordinate with the two countries during the drill, Qian noted.
Apart from the military drill, the SCO members could also share cyber intelligence for security cooperation, Chen Yurong, a senior research fellow on Eastern Europe and Central Asia Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Friday.
Even if India may be reluctant to share intelligence, it can begin with the fight against drugs and cross-border crimes and tracking of extremists and terrorists, as India also needs to fulfill its obligations after joining the SCO, said Chen.
Missing Chinese
China also vowed on Friday to further its anti-terror cooperation with Pakistan and international community after two Chinese nationals were reportedly kidnapped and killed in Pakistan by terrorists.
China is still confirming the death of the two Chinese via various channels, including working with Pakistani authorities, said Hua, adding that the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan had also launched emergency procedures for rescue.