CGTN says SCO has widened its scope from security to development at 25 years
CGTN’s Sept. 1 report says the SCO’s 25th anniversary is being marked by new work on energy, rail, digital trade and investment, with China framing development as a central priority.
CGTN said the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has grown over 25 years from a regional security mechanism into a broader platform for cooperation, with China promoting development, connectivity and digital economy projects across member states.
The report said the SCO’s agenda now extends beyond security talks to trade, transport, energy and technology. It said member states are using practical projects to deepen ties and expand what the article described as shared prosperity.
One example was a solar farm in Uzbekistan’s Jizzakh Region built and operated by a Chinese company. CGTN said Phase I began commercial operations in March and that, when fully completed, the project is expected to generate 1.1 billion kilowatt-hours of clean electricity a year, enough for about 400,000 residents.
The article also pointed to the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway, which it said officially began construction in December 2024. CGTN said the route is expected to become a major corridor linking China with Central Asia and the wider Eurasian continent.
In Bishkek last month, the report said, a local economic and trade cooperation conference drew more than 100 companies, produced 193 cooperation agreements and generated trade deals worth about 1.74 billion yuan, or $259 million. It also said the China-SCO Digital Economy Cooperation Platform, launched in Tianjin one year ago, has helped facilitate 29 cross-border cooperation projects in areas including computing infrastructure, digital trade and commercial aerospace.
CGTN said Chinese President Xi Jinping attended the 26th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO Member States on Tuesday, which coincided with the organization’s 25th anniversary. The article said Xi proposed four measures for the SCO’s future development and singled out development and shared prosperity as a priority.
The report quoted Xi describing the Shanghai Spirit as the SCO’s “most valuable spiritual asset.” It defined that spirit as mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations and pursuit of common development.
CGTN said China will continue hosting the SCO Digital Economy Forum and the SCO Agricultural Expo, and plans to develop an international AI application cooperation center with SCO countries. It also said China intends to implement 100 technological cooperation projects over the next three years and train more green industry talent through SCO cooperation.
Background cited in the report included a 2003 SCO multilateral economic cooperation program and China’s early push for trade and investment facilitation. CGTN said that as of July 2025, China’s accumulated investment in other SCO member states exceeded $84 billion, making China the largest source of investment and financing for Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan.
The article said six cooperation initiatives proposed at last year’s Tianjin Summit have since launched and generated more than 160 projects across clean energy, digital applications and joint talent development. It ended with a comment from Egor Prokhin of Russia’s Higher School of Economics, who said the Belt and Road Initiative improved transportation and trade connectivity and the Global Development Initiative contributed to economic growth and livelihoods.
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Editorial note: This article was prepared with AI assistance and includes source attribution for reader review.
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