Officials, scholars envision prospects for SCO, China-proposed initiatives

In just three days and two nights, President Xi Jinping made a whirlwind tour to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and attended nearly 30 official events, achieving what officials and scholars are calling "a major diplomatic action directed at the Eurasian continent".

From Wednesday to Friday, Xi made state visits to two Central Asian countries and attended the 22nd Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Observers described the choice of Central Asia for Xi's first trip abroad since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic as a strategic step China has taken to advance cooperation, security, development, openness, mutual trust and respect among regional countries and beyond.

At the end of the 48-hour travel, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said President Xi's trip had given "a boost to the expansion pace of the SCO and ...successfully steered China's relations with the countries involved to new levels".

The visit "will add more vitality to the Silk Road connecting the Eurasian continent and add more stabilizing factors to the international and regional situations, which are at a key juncture", Wang added.

Through the concerted efforts of Xi and other leaders, the SCO summit, which concluded on Friday, adopted over 40 outcome documents.

Under China's initiative, the summit adopted four major statements on international energy and food security, tackling climate change, and keeping supply chains secure, stable and diversified, Wang said.

On behalf of China, Xi also announced a number of plans of action, such as establishing a China-SCO base for training counterterrorism personnel and hosting a forum on industrial and supply chains, he added.

"These tangible measures meet the needs of various countries and show that China not only proposed the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative, but also carried out the initiatives with real actions," Wang said.