Xi says media act as bridge for SCO

He calls for building a ‘close-knit community with a shared future’

President Xi Jinping called on media outlets on Friday to promote the “Shanghai Spirit”, expand practical cooperation and spread friendliness among the peoples within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Xi, who is also the general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks in a congratulatory letter to the First SCO Media Summit, held in Beijing on Friday.

The media are an important bridge for exchanges, cooperation and people-to-people connectivity among SCO countries, Xi said.

In today’s world, where informatization is developing rapidly, the media play an increasingly significant role in connecting hearts and minds of people from different countries, he said, adding that he is confident the summit will play a positive role in building strength for the organization.

“China resolutely supports the development of the SCO and is willing to join hands with all parties to build a more close-knit community with a shared future for the region and promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind,” he said.

The summit, proposed by Xi in June last year at the SCO Astana summit in Kazakhstan, and with the theme “upholding Shanghai Spirit for a new era of media cooperation”, aims to promote exchanges and cooperation in humanities. Government officials and representatives from more than 110 media outlets from SCO countries attended the summit.

The SCO countries should strengthen unity and coordination and contribute more “SCO wisdom and solutions” to long-term regional stability and prosperity, said Huang Kunming, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, in the keynote speech at the summit.

Hailing the summit as a “l(fā)andmark event” for media partnership within the SCO, Huang said that in promoting the “Shanghai Spirit”, media outlets should build up the strength of shared future, demonstrate responsibility for safeguarding regional security, spread the dream of common development, tell the stories of people’s connectivity in their minds and hearts, and cooperate to build a shared communication network.

Huang voiced the hope that media will proactively advocate a common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security perspective, keep close watch on the security situation and make the voice of peace and justice louder.

In addition, Huang said that against the backdrop of rising protectionism, media organizations should reflect the contributions the SCO countries have made in facilitating trade and investment, pushing for an opinion consensus in supporting economic globalization and anti-protectionism.

Echoing Huang, SCO Secretary-General Rashid Alimov said the “Shanghai Spirit” will be consistently carried forward in future cooperation within the SCO.

The spirit will continue to guide the SCO countries in expanding bilateral and multilateral cooperation in various fields, safeguarding common interests and regional security and promoting cultural prosperity, Alimov said at the summit.

Over 20 cooperative agreements covering the fight against terrorism as well as such fields as economic partnership and environmental protection will be signed during the upcoming SCO Qingdao Summit, according to Alimov.

A series of political documents, including a Qingdao Declaration — the most important outcome of the summit — will also be signed, said Alimov, adding that the declaration will chart a new course for future SCO development.

The media can play a positive role in securing harmony among SCO countries, said Shafqat Jalil, director-general of Pakistan Broadcasting Corp, at the summit. Through responsible reporting, media can help promote regional peace and stability and ultimately realize a new fair and rational international political and economic order, he added.

An initiative for media cooperation among SCO countries was passed at the media summit, and a series of cooperation agreements were signed between governments and media organizations of the SCO on the sidelines of the summit.

Cao Desheng contributed to this story.