Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday said that members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) should deepen mutual trust and resolve disputes and differences through dialogue and consultations, while firmly dealing with terrorist, separatist and extremist forces.
Addressing the Council of Heads of State of the SCO grouping via video link, Xi said that history has proved and will continue to prove that good, neighbourly friendship will go beyond a beggar-thy-neighbour approach, mutually beneficial cooperation will take over the zero-sum game and multilateralism will prevail over unilateralism.
“We need to deepen solidarity and mutual trust and resolve disputes and differences through dialogue and consultations,” Xi said in remarks in the backdrop of the over six-month-long border standoff between India and China in eastern Ladakh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of the eight-member SCO grouping attended the virtual summit hosted by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“We need to act on the vision of common, comprehensive and sustainable security, address all forms of threats and challenges effectively and foster a sound security atmosphere in our region,” he said.
Countries of the SCO should “resolutely oppose external forces’ interfering in their internal affairs under any pretext,” Xi said. SCO members should “firmly support countries concerned in law-based efforts to steadily advance major domestic political agenda. Firmly support countries in safeguarding political security and social stability and firmly oppose interference by external forces in the domestic affairs of SCO members under whatever pretext,” he said.