Int'l media closely follow President Xi's Central Asia trip

BEIJING -- The international media has closely followed President Xi Jinping's attendance to the 22nd meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and state visits to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan from Wednesday to Friday.

The global media believed that the trip is a landmark leading to a full-restart of China's diplomacy of the head of state and China is making efforts to build a fairer and more rational international order.

The Singaporean leading daily newspaper Lianhe Zaobao said that over the past two years, Xi has participated in global gatherings by video link, while this physical foreign trip by Xi before the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China signals that the Chinese diplomacy of the head of state has resumed.

Global media houses also believe that upholding the "Shanghai Spirit," the SCO is gradually becoming an important constructive player in the Eurasian region and global affairs.

The SCO was set up in 2001 as a political, economic and security organization, said AFP, adding that it is not a formal military alliance like NATO or a deeply integrated bloc like the European Union, but its members work together to tackle joint security issues, cooperate militarily and promote trade.

Over the years, SCO activities have expanded from regional security to include economics, trade and even law enforcement. Observers say the bloc also has great economic potential with more countries joining as members or partners, according to BBC.

Meanwhile, the Diplomat also noted that Xi's decision to resume the international travel can thus be seen as part of a trend toward greater post-COVID reopening.

Both Russian newspaper Nezavisimaya Gazeta and Uzbekistan's Podrobno.uz website agreed that the key to the SCO's strong attraction lies in its principles of non-alliance, openness and not targeting any third party, which naturally gives the organization moral appeal.

Central Asia is regarded as a wonderful platform for China to unveil new ideas, said the TASS news agency.

As Xi put forward the Silk Road Economic Belt in Kazakhstan in 2013, this time his two-nation trip is aimed at elucidating China's current diplomatic priorities: first, to rally more support for the vision of building a community with a shared future for mankind; second, to establish the concept featuring a world without sanctions; and third, to emphasize that all conflicts can be peacefully settled only through diplomatic solutions, TASS said.