President Xi's speech at the 18th SCO summit in Qingdao has unveiled a new horizon, opened up a new world of peace and prosperity.

The 18th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) ended on June 10, 2018. The two-day summit reached consensus on a wide range of important topics involving development and mutual trust, sending a signal of unity in the fight against terrorism and protectionism with a promise of prosperity and well-being.

The 18th Annual SCO Leaders' Summit deemed as "the Eurasian eight" was historic since it was the first meeting after the two South Asian rivals India and Pakistan joined the prestigious SCO consortium as full members last year at the Astana summit in Kazakhstan, the first ever expansion since its creation in 2001 in Shanghai. 

On June 10, while delivering his keynote speech titled "Carrying Forward the Shanghai Spirit to Build a Community with a Shared Future," President Xi Jinping highlighted the effectiveness of the 17-year-old organization, offering his "five perspectives" on development, security, cooperation, civilization, and global governance.

In his speech at the summit, President Xi welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain to the gathering, calling their presence "of great historic significance." The Qingdao Declaration also stressed that "the inclusion of India and Pakistan into the SCO has lifted cooperation in various areas to a new level." 

It is heartening to see that the two "rivals" displayed both tolerance and inclusiveness during the two-day event in Qingdao. Prime Minister Modi and President Hussain shook hands after the signing of agreements between the member states of the eight nation bloc.

Over the past two decades, guided by the "SCO Charter and the Treaty on Long-Term Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation between the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization," the SCO has proved its effectiveness in practical and concrete cooperation between the member states based on mutual respect, fairness and justice and win-win cooperation.

In his address to the closing of the sessions, President Xi hailed the bloc's guiding "Shanghai spirit," which focuses on seeking common ground while setting aside differences and pursuing mutually beneficial cooperation. 

Since taking the baton of the SCO from Kazakhstan, China has played an important role in deepening regional coordination among the member countries. In his address President Xi charted new action plans for Eurasian security, economic and trade links and people-to-people exchanges among the member countries.

As per Xi's speech, China announced plans to train 2,000 law enforcement officers for all parties in the next three years through the China National Institute for SCO International Exchange and Judicial Cooperation and other platforms; and to set up a 30-billion-yuan (4.7 billion U.S. dollars) equivalent special lending facility within the framework of the SCO Inter-bank Consortium. The Chinese government also supports building a demonstration area in Qingdao for trade cooperation with SCO.

President Xi's speech has unveiled a new horizon, opened up a new world of peace and prosperity. It is hoped that the enlarged SCO should work to "build an SCO community with a shared future" at this new phase for the organization.