China will work with Russia as 'great powers' - Xi

RT
Thu, 15 Sep 2022 15:18 UTC

© Getty Images/TPG

Chinese President Xi Jinping • Russian President Vladimir Putin

Chinese President Xi Jinping wants to work with Moscow to take on the responsibilities of "great powers," he told his Russian counterpart on Thursday at the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Samarkand. Xi told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a leaders' summit at the SCO:

"China is willing to make efforts with Russia to assume the role of great powers, and play a guiding role to inject stability and positive energy into a world rocked by social turmoil."

Putin likewise praised the "multifaceted ties" the two countries have forged, in particular their trade relationship. Highlighting the exchange of $140 billion in trade with Beijing last year, he noted that the volume had increased 25% in the first half of 2022 and said he hoped the figure could reach $200 billion by the end of the year.

The Russian leader affirmed Moscow's support for Beijing's 'One China' policy and condemned

"the attempts at provocations by the United States in and around Taiwan. Overall I have to say that attempts at creating a unipolar world have been quite ugly and unacceptable as of late for the majority of the nations on this planet."

Putin thanked China for its cooperation on the foreign policy stage. "We highly value the balanced approach of our Chinese friends when it comes to the Ukrainian crisis," he said. Acknowledging the Chinese may have questions and concerns about the future of the conflict, he pledged to explain everything in detail again.

"The organization includes countries with different cultural and civilizational traditions, foreign policy guidelines and models of national development. However, building work on the principles of equality and mutual benefit, respect for each other's sovereignty and refusal to interfere in internal affairs made it possible to turn this organization into an effective mechanism for multilateral cooperation."

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization has been meeting for over two decades and brings together nearly half the planet's population, encompassing eight states that cover over half the world's territory.

Comment: Iran prepares to join SCO:

Iran has signed a memorandum paving the way to transition from its current observer status to full membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

The Middle-Eastern nation, which the US has long sought to undermine with diplomatic isolation and economic sanctions, made a formal step on Thursday to become the ninth member of the organization.

The SCO was created in 2001 as an intragovernmental forum aimed at fostering trust and developing economic and humanitarian ties in Asia. It currently has eight permanent members: China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. The last is currently hosting the annual summit of the leaders of the member states in the city of Samarkand.

Iran has been an SCO observer since 2005. Its delegation to the summit is headed by President Ebrahim Raisi, who met with senior Uzbek officials on Wednesday.

Yury Ushakov, a foreign affairs advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, said earlier this week that Iran could qualify for being upgraded to full membership before next year's SCO summit in India.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev touted this year's event as a turning point for the organization. He cited the rapidly growing interest of nations in closer involvement with the SCO and said that it served as an example of how a "deep crisis of trust at the global level" can be overcome by parties willing to do so. He also stressed the scale of the group, which accounts for roughly half of the world's population and a quarter of global GDP.

Belarus, also an SCO observer, is set to start the formal process for full membership this year. Egypt and Qatar formally joined the organization as dialogue partners on Wednesday. Saudi Arabia is scheduled to do the same, while Bahrain, Kuwait, the UAE, Myanmar, and the Maldives are expected to begin their respective paths to receiving the same status.