‘Colour revolutions’ must be prevented: Xi tells members at SCO

SAMARKAND: China’s Xi Jinping said on Friday that the world had entered a new period of turbulence and that partners such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and Central Asian leaders should prevent foreign powers from instigating “colour revolutions”.

Xi, on his first trip outside China since early 2020, told a summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in the ancient Uzbek Silk Road city of Samarkand that they should support each other to deter foreign meddling.

“The world has entered a new period of turbulent change, we must grasp the trend of the times, strengthen solidarity and cooperation, and promote the construction of a closer community of destiny with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization,” Xi said.

“We should support each other’s efforts to safeguard security and development interests, prevent external forces from staging colour revolutions, and jointly oppose interference in the internal affairs of other countries under any pretext.”

Xi criticised “zero-sum games and bloc politics”, a veiled reference to the United States which Beijing has criticised in the past for leaning on allies to counter China’s spectacular rise to the status of a superpower in waiting.

Putin, Russia’s paramount leader since 1999, has repeatedly said that the United States is plotting so-called “colour revolutions” similar to those which swept established elites from power in places such as Ukraine.

The United States denies such claims and says they show the paranoid nature of Putin’s Russia.

The conflict in eastern Ukraine began in 2014 after a pro-Russian president was toppled in Ukraine’s “Maidan” Revolution and Russia annexed Crimea, with Russian-backed forces fighting Ukraine’s armed forces.

China’s stability-obsessed Communist Party, which is next month likely to give Xi a third leadership term and cement his place as the country’s most powerful leader since Mao Zedong, has in the past warned against so called “colour revolutions”.

The Shanghai Spirit carried forward

The Samarkand SCO summit takes place at a time when the world is witnessing the combined impact of a pandemic unseen in a century, a de-globalization trend and other complex factors, with the global economic governance system facing challenges.

The Shanghai Spirit, named after the Chinese city in which the group was founded and as its undergirding values and guidelines, features mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for cultural diversity, and pursuit of common development.

On Friday, Xi said what can be drawn upon from the group’s rich practices includes political trust, mutually beneficial cooperation, equality, openness and inclusiveness, and equity and justice, which fully embodies the Shanghai Spirit.

It has been shown that the Shanghai Spirit is the source of strength for the development of the SCO, and also the fundamental guide the SCO member states must continue to follow in the years to come, he said.

“We owe the SCO’s remarkable success to the Shanghai Spirit. And we will continue to follow its guidance as we forge ahead,” he pledged.

Beyond security

At a time when geopolitical conflict and nontraditional security threats such as extremism and terrorism are on the rise, the SCO plays an important role in safeguarding regional security and joint prosperity. Yet its role goes beyond security.

During his speech, Xi called for the SCO members to strengthen practical cooperation among themselves. He said that China is ready to work with all other stakeholders to pursue the Global Development Initiative proposed by China and jointly promote the Belt and Road Initiative.

At the summit, statements on safeguarding international energy and food security were also adopted. Xi pledged that China will provide developing countries in need with emergency humanitarian assistance of grain and other supplies worth 1.5 billion yuan.

The Chinese president also urged the group to fully implement the cooperation documents in such areas as trade and investment, infrastructure, supply chains, scientific and technological innovation, and artificial intelligence.

Warning against an “obsession with forming a small circle,” Xi reiterated the importance of upholding true multilateralism to improve global governance and ensure that the international order is more just and equitable.

Vision for the future

Since its founding in 2001, the SCO has had an extraordinary journey. To date, the organization has eight full members, four observer countries and multiple dialogue partners.

In terms of geographic scope and population, the SCO is the world’s largest regional organization, covering approximately 60 percent of the land area of Eurasia and 41 percent of the world’s population. Its members accounted for 24 percent of global GDP in 2021, according to the World Bank.

And the SCO is still growing. At Friday’s summit, a memorandum of obligations on Iran’s full SCO membership was signed; the procedure for Belarus’ accession was started; MOUs granting Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Qatar the status of SCO dialogue partners were signed; agreements were reached on admitting Bahrain, the Maldives, the UAE, Kuwait and Myanmar as new dialogue partners.

Noting an increasing number of countries have applied to join the SCO family, the Chinese president said it fully demonstrates the power of the SCO’s vision and the widely shared confidence in its future.

In conclusion of his speech, Xi called on all countries to act in the Shanghai Spirit, work for the steady development of the SCO, and jointly build the region into a peaceful, stable, prosperous and beautiful home.

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