Samarkand SCO summit: What's on the agenda

Joint construction of Belt and Road

Most SCO members, observers and dialogue partners are located along the ancient Silk Road, providing them the geographical advantage of participating in the Belt and Road Initiative. In addition, the spirits of the two cooperation frameworks are in line with each other.

The practical cooperation among SCO member states will be further expanded to green development, digital economy and other areas in the future in line with the concepts of "a green Silk Road" and "a digital Silk Road".

SCO member states have implemented the initiative since it was first introduced, expanding pragmatic cooperation, increasing the construction of infrastructure and aligning their countries own development plans with the initiative, which has led to growth in trade, smooth freight and logistics, more transport capacity, and a boost in cultural exchanges and tourism development.

In 2021, the combined GDP of all SCO nations was $23.3 trillion, 13 times higher than when the organization was founded, and China has been ramping up efforts to boost trade with other SCO members, seeing its total trade volumes with other members reach $343.1 billion, a 40 percent rise from the previous year.