This Day, That Year

40 years on

Editor’s Note: This year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s reform and opening-up policy.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization was founded by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in Shanghai on June 15, 2001, as seen in the item from China Daily.

In June 2002, the second SCO summit was held in St. Petersburg, Russia, when the leaders of the six countries signed the Charter of the SCO to define the organization’s development goals and institutionalize cooperation among member states.

The intergovernmental organization aims to strengthen mutual trust among the member states, promote effective cooperation in various sectors including economy, technology, education and culture, make joint efforts to maintain peace, security and stability in the region and establish a fair and rational international political and economic order.

In 2003, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Zhang Deguang was appointed as its first secretary-general at the third summit in Moscow.

The group remained the same size for 16 years until India and Pakistan were admitted last year at the 17th SCO summit in Astana, Kazakhstan. Now the SCO covers three-fifths of Eurasia, and has nearly half the world’s population.

At the weekend, the 18th summit was successfully held in Qingdao, Shandong province.