* With 10 member states, 2 observer states and 14 dialogue partners, the SCO now represents nearly half of the world’s population, a quarter of the global landmass and about a quarter of global GDP.
* Since its inception in 2001, the SCO has grown into a comprehensive regional organization that contributes certainty and vitality to an often volatile global economic landscape, analysts noted.
* As leaders from Asia, Europe and Africa will gather in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 for the largest-ever SCO summit in history, it is expected that the meeting will chart the blueprint for the group’s future development and contribute more vitality to the world economy.
BEIJING, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) — Driven by booming cross-border shopping and tourism, the bustling China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Border Cooperation Center has in recent weeks seen surging cross-border personnel movements with daily crossings surpassing 30,000.
As of July 11, over 5 million cross-border personnel movements had been made through the 5.6-square-kilometer center this year, up 73 percent year on year. The center is partly located in Horgos of northwest China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and partly in Kazakhstan.
As a demonstration area on regional cooperation under the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), the center has witnessed ever-growing economic and trade ties among the members of the organization, which was established 24 years ago by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
With 10 member states, 2 observer states and 14 dialogue partners, the SCO now represents nearly half of the world’s population, a quarter of the global landmass and about a quarter of global GDP. Since its inception in 2001, the SCO has grown into a comprehensive regional organization that contributes certainty and vitality to an often volatile global economic landscape, analysts noted.
As leaders from Asia, Europe and Africa will gather in the northern Chinese port city of Tianjin on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 for the largest-ever SCO summit in history, it is expected that the meeting will chart the blueprint for the group’s future development and contribute more vitality to the world economy.
ROBUST ECONOMIC, TRADE TIES
In the Chinese section of the China-Kazakhstan Horgos International Border Cooperation Center, more than 2,000 stores, including over 200 duty-free ones, offer more than 1,000 types of goods from over 40 countries. Each tourist is allowed to purchase duty-free goods up to 8,000 yuan (about 1,125 U.S. dollars) per day.
“Products such as chocolates from Kazakhstan and the traditional hats of China’s Kazak ethnic group are especially popular,” said Lin Zixuan, a business owner at the center, noting that her daily revenue reaches up to 100,000 yuan on peak days.
Robust trade vitality at the center epitomizes the growing economic and trade ties between China and other SCO members in recent years, with cooperation spanning across sectors including infrastructure, energy, agriculture and technology.
In 2024 alone, China’s trade with other SCO members hit 3.65 trillion yuan, 36.3 times the level recorded when the organization was established.
The sound momentum of trade cooperation has been extended this year despite increasing external uncertainties. Official data showed that from January to July, China’s total trade with other SCO members had reached 2.11 trillion yuan, up 3 percent year on year.
Notably, China’s trade with fellow SCO members surged 8.5 percent to 326.05 billion yuan in July alone, marking both the highest monthly value and growth rate so far this year.
PIONEERING COOPERATION IN EMERGING SECTORS
On the vast grasslands of Kazakhstan’s Akmola region, more than 40 wind turbines stand tall, converting the wind into clean electricity that travels through a transmission network to the country’s capital of Astana.
Built and operated by a Chinese company, this wind farm went online in September 2023, becoming the Central Asian country’s largest at the time.
In Kyrgyzstan, the 5G network constructed with the participation of Chinese enterprises now covers major cities, raising the country’s internet penetration from 43 percent to over 70 percent. Meanwhile, in Tajikistan, the digital healthcare platform jointly developed by China and Tajikistan has achieved full coverage of remote medical consultations, benefiting residents in isolated areas.
As demonstrated by these projects, SCO members are pivoting toward closer cooperation in emerging sectors, including clean energy, ecological protection, new energy vehicles and the digital economy.
Facilitated by cross-border e-commerce cooperation, more quality products from SCO members are able to enter the Chinese market. In 2024, the country’s cross-border e-commerce imports from other SCO members had surged by 34 percent.
China plays a significant role in the SCO and is the driving force of its development, Kyrgyz expert Igor Shestakov told Xinhua in a recent interview.
Aligned with the theme of “SCO Year of Sustainable Development,” China is promoting cooperation with its SCO partners in oil, gas, manufacturing, green energy and digital economy, according to China’s Vice Commerce Minister Ling Ji.
These efforts are expected to boost industrial transformation and foster closer ties in terms of industrial and supply chains among SCO members, the official said.
EYEING INCLUSIVENESS, MUTUAL BENEFITS
Hailing China for fulfilling its commitments to support SCO member states without imposing political conditions, Shestakov said this approach embodies the Shanghai Spirit, which emphasizes mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations and pursuit of common development.
By the end of 2024, China’s cumulative investment in SCO members, observers and dialogue partners had exceeded 140 billion U.S. dollars.
Yasiru Ranaraja, a Sri Lankan international affairs expert and founding director of the Belt and Road Initiative Sri Lanka, said the SCO has continued to grow and expand over the past 24 years, reflecting inclusiveness as well as its appeal and vitality. Sri Lanka is a dialogue partner of the SCO.
As many countries want to join the SCO as dialogue partners and members, it has demonstrated the international community’s recognition of this organization, according to Ranaraja.
He added that the SCO offers a valuable platform for cooperation among Global South countries. At a time when the world is facing challenges such as geopolitical conflicts and protectionism, the SCO embodies “a fairer and more inclusive vision of regional governance.”
(Video reporters: Yu Fuqing, Yang Yiran, Dong Xiuzhu, Ahmed Adel; Video editors: Wu You, Zhu Cong, Roger Lott.) ■
