Chinese Premier Li Keqiang delivers keynote speech at the meeting.

 

The 15th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Governments of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Member States was held in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, on Dec. 14 and 15. Because of its unique position as a hub of the Silk Road Economic Belt, Zhengzhou was selected to host the meeting, which focused on the “Belt and Road” initiative.
 

While the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) was founded to tackle regional security issues, its economic potential is still being explored. “Member and observer countries of the SCO are all strategically located along the Silk Road Economic Belt. It means that they can be primary beneficiaries of numerous opportunities afforded by the “Belt and Road” initiative,” said Sun Zhuangzhi, secretary-general of the Center of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Meanwhile, the Eurasian Economic Union, a Russian-led regional economic integration plan, has come into being. In May, China and Russia signed a bilateral agreement, vowing to seek common ground and joint development. “The Chinese-Russian strategic economic tie was a breakthrough in advancing multilateral cooperation within the SCO framework,” said Shi Ze, director of the International Energy Research Center at the China Institute of International Studies. “The bilateral agreement is an ideal departure point, and there will be more good news,” he said.

The “Belt and Road” is a far-sighted economic enterprise, while the SCO is an institutionalized organization. Numerous policy and technical challenges are involved in merging them. “Member countries of the SCO have been engaged in various types of partnerships, and have forged and maintained functioning coordination mechanisms at all levels. It means that the SCO is definitely capable of providing institutional guarantees and supports for the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative,” Sun Zhuangzhi said.

 

Mao Li is a reporter at the Chinese Social Sciences Today.