By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday declared open the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit, being attended by more than 20 world leaders including Russia’s Vladimir Putin and India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The 2-day summit which seeks to challenge US-led, western-dominated blocs is taking place in the northern port city of Tianjin.
Addressing the gathering, President Jinping denounced what he described as a “bullying behaviour” in the world order.
In his address, he called on the leaders to “adhere to fairness and justice… oppose Cold War mentality, camp confrontation, and bullying behaviour”.
The SCO is a 10-member bloc of Eurasian nations, which include China, India, Russia, Pakistan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Belarus — with 16 more countries affiliated as observers or “dialogue partners”.
China and Russia have sometimes touted the SCO as an alternative to the NATO military alliance.
“The current international situation is becoming chaotic and intertwined,” Xi told the leaders.
“The security and development tasks facing member states have become even more challenging,” he added.
“Looking back, despite tumultuous times, we have achieved success by practicing the Shanghai spirit,” he said, referring to the name of the group.
“Looking to the future, with the world undergoing turbulence and transformation, we must continue to follow the Shanghai spirit, keep our feet on the ground, forge ahead, and better perform the functions of the organisation.”
