UN resolution on working with SCO upholds solidarity

The United Nations General Assembly on Friday adopted a resolution with overwhelming support on cooperation between the UN and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

The resolution, entitled "Cooperation between the United Nations and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization", was introduced by China and cosponsored by nearly 40 countries, including all the SCO member states. It highly commends the constructive role of the SCO in promoting regional peace, development, mutual trust and cooperation.

The resolution speaks highly of the SCO's efforts to support the work of the UN and expresses support for strengthened dialogue and collaboration between the UN and the SCO.

Since its founding 24 years ago, the SCO has continued to grow under the guidance of the Shanghai Spirit, namely mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations, and pursuit of common development. There are now 27 participating countries cooperating in over 50 sectors under the SCO framework, and the SCO members have a combined annual economic output close to $30 trillion.

The highlight of the SCO Tianjin Summit that concluded on Sept 1 was Chinese President Xi Jinping's proposal of the Global Governance Initiative. It calls on all countries to adhere to sovereign equality, abide by international rule of law, practice multilateralism, advocate the people-centered approach, and focus on taking real actions to jointly build a more just and equitable global governance system and a community with a shared future for humanity.

The initiative was warmly welcomed and actively supported by all parties attending the SCO Tianjin Summit. They agreed that the world today urgently needs more effective governance visions and systems, making China's proposal most opportune and relevant. They also agreed to strengthen their strategic coordination, uphold multilateralism, safeguard fairness and justice, and improve global governance.

At Friday's UN General Assembly session, it was good to see representatives of Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Belarus, Pakistan, Iran, Cambodia, Cuba, Venezuela and Serbia speak highly of the SCO Tianjin Summit and the work carried out by China during its rotating presidency.

As they emphasized, the resolution's adoption by the UN General Assembly with overwhelming support also reflects the international community's recognition and support of the SCO. The representatives correctly noted that the Global Governance Initiative proposed by President Xi meets the needs of the times and will play a crucial role in addressing global challenges and enhancing global governance.

As a matter of fact, one of the keywords at the SCO Tianjin Summit was the UN, with the UN referenced as many as 40 times in the declaration of the summit. The declaration explicitly underscores the importance of adhering to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, leveraging the UN's central, coordinating role, delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals, supporting necessary reforms of the UN, and expanding exchanges and cooperation with the UN and its specialized agencies.

Marking the 80th anniversary of the founding of the UN, the summit also issued a special statement calling for the defense of the international system with the UN at its core.

Notably, the UN General Assembly has unanimously adopted resolutions on cooperation between the UN and the SCO on several occasions since 2009. The resolution adopted on Friday retains the structure of the previous resolutions focusing on major issues such as peace and development, but it highlights the positive contributions made by the SCO to the work of the UN and calls for further strengthening the cooperation between the two sides.

As Geng Shuang, charge d'affaires of the Permanent Mission of China to the UN, said while introducing the draft resolution at the UN General Assembly, all UN member states should support this draft resolution and cosponsor it, thereby sending a strong signal to the world that, with a few notable exceptions, the UN family stands united in upholding multilateralism and strengthening solidarity and cooperation.