‘We must lead the Global South in promoting the establishment of a more just and reasonable global governance system,’ he said.

On Tuesday, Chinese President Xi Jinping praised the unity among members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), a group founded 24 years ago and composed of China, Iran, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

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“We must unite and lead the Global South in promoting the establishment of a more just and reasonable global governance system,” he told the foreign ministers of the SCO countries, urging them to improve mechanisms for responding to global security threats and challenges.

Xi also emphasized that the SCO “has become a mature and robust organization” and that China “is committed to strengthening it, safeguarding regional security and stability, and promoting the development and prosperity of its member states.”

The Chinese President added that he hopes the upcoming SCO summit this fall will help “maintain confidence,” “act efficiently,” and “play a more proactive role” amid a “turbulent and changing” international landscape.

Xi Meets With Lavrov and Araqchi

On Tuesday, Xi also held a separate meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, just one day after former U.S. President Donald Trump signaled a shift in his stance toward the Kremlin. Trump had publicly voiced frustration in recent days with Russian President Vladimir Putin over continued Russian airstrikes in Ukraine.

In this context, Xi said that China and Russia must “strengthen mutual support and cooperation” on international platforms such as the SCO and highlighted the importance of “safeguarding the security and development interests” of both nations.

The meeting also served to discuss Putin’s upcoming visit to China, where he is expected to attend the Sept. 3 military parade in Beijing marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Separately, Lavrov also met with the Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Abbas Araqchi. They advocated for resolving the Iranian nuclear program crisis “exclusively through political and diplomatic means.”

“The parties continued to exchange views on regional and international issues of common interest. The importance of resolving the crisis surrounding the Iranian nuclear program solely by political and diplomatic means, in accordance with international law, was reaffirmed,” Lavrov stated.

The meeting comes in the wake of the 12-day war between Iran and Israel, which began with an Israeli offensive against Iranian targets on June 13. Those Israeli strikes were condemned at the time by SCO member states.

Easing Tensions with India

Also on Tuesday, Xi met with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who praised the roles played by the Chinese leader and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in improving ties between Beijing and New Delhi.

It marked the first visit by a senior Indian diplomat to China since the 2020 border clash in the Galwan Valley, where soldiers on both sides were killed.

Jaishankar also met Monday with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, who called for steering bilateral relations toward “good-neighborliness,” while Jaishankar emphasized the importance of avoiding further tensions. The Indian minister also expressed his hope that the SCO would uphold a “zero tolerance” policy on terrorism.

Tuesday’s meeting came just weeks after a similar gathering of SCO defense ministers in the Chinese city of Qingdao ended without a joint declaration due to disagreements over security issues — especially terrorism.

New Delhi, which refused to sign the final statement, claimed that some countries were using cross-border terrorism as a political tool and were harboring extremist groups — an implicit reference to Pakistan.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: EFE

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