Chinese President Xi Jinping said China would accelerate the creation of an SCO development bank Monday at the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Tianjin, as he seeks to expand the organization’s influence and scope.
“Currently, as the global situation becomes more complex and turbulent, member states are facing more arduous safety and development responsibilities,” Xi said in opening remarks to the forum. He pledged $1.4 billion in loans in the next three years for SCO members. They are not specifically designated for the new development bank, for which no timeline has been released.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi were among the leaders of a couple of dozen nations meeting as part of the SCO.
Xi also said states should “oppose the Cold War mentality, bloc-based confrontation and bullying, and safeguard the international system with the United Nations at its core” while “advocating for an equal and orderly multipolar world, an inclusive economic globalization, and promote the building of a more just and reasonable global governance system.”
Founded in 2001, the SCO now includes Russia, Belarus, China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Afghanistan and Mongolia are observer states, and 14 other countries, including several from the Middle East, serve as “dialogue partners.”
The summit comes days ahead of a military parade in Beijing to which China has invited its allies and neighbors.
