Multilateral SCO Cooperation through Mutual Learning

After 23 years of steadydevelopment， theShanghai CooperationOrganization （SCO）has welcomed its 10th memberstate， making it the world’s biggestregional organization with thelargest population and the greatestpotential. SCO member stateshail from East Asia， CentralAsia， South Asia， West Asia， andEastern Europe， and they havelong-standing historical ties andfriendly relations despite theircontrasting social systems， culturalattributes， national strengths， andpolicy orientations. Promotingmultilateral cooperation requiresconsolidating and expandingthe political foundation of SCOmember states and building moreconsensus on collaboration.Mutual learning amongcivilizations not only increasesmutual understanding andrecognition among the peopleof SCO member states， but alsoenhances political mutual trust，strengthens internal unity， andincreases the endogenous drivingforces of cooperation.

Principles and Objectives of Mutual Learning among Civilizations

Considering their varyingnational conditions， developmentstages， and cultures， SCO membercountries must uphold mutualrespect and inclusiveness whendeveloping bilateral relationsand pursue mutual assistanceand balanced development whenworking together.

Multilateral cooperation underthe SCO framework needs toadhere to the following principles：First， while recognizing andshowcasing its own culture， eachnation or country should respectthe cultures of other nationsand countries. Countries shouldlearn from each other and seekharmony in diversity. Second， theprinciple that all cultures are equalshould be followed in the processof cultural exchange. Third，achieving common prosperityculturally and realizing commondevelopment economicallyare equally important. Fourth，cultural security is an integral partof safeguarding national interestsand regional stability.

How can we truly respectcultural diversity whenpromoting mutual learningamong civilizations？ First， it isreflected in efforts to cherish andinherit a nation’s own cultureamid the impact and penetrationof Westernization. Second， weshould attach importance tocultural cooperation and exchangebetween governments， mediaorganizations， youth， think tanks，and cultural institutions. Third， inbilateral interactions， we shouldrespect other nations’ culturesand customs， which is particularlyimportant for enterprises andpersonnel going abroad. Fourth，we should adhere to the principleof extensive consultation， jointcontribution and shared benefitsto ensure the SCO serves asan important platform forsynergy between the Belt andRoad Initiative and the strategicplans of various countries andexpand cooperation from hardconnectivity of infrastructure tosoft connectivity of institutions andrules， and then to heart-to-heartcommunication.

The aim of cultural cooperationwithin the SCO framework is tobuild closer people-to-people tiesamong member states， consolidateand develop traditional friendships，and lay a social foundation forforging everlasting amity. Sincethe establishment of the SCO，cooperation in various fields hasbeen advancing simultaneously.SCO cooperation has expandedfrom the “three pillars，” namely， thethree cooperation areas of security，economy， and cultural exchange，to comprehensive collaboration inpolitics， economics， security， culturalexchange， and international affairs.Nevertheless， cultural exchangehas always been a key area ofcooperation.

Chinese President Xi Jinpingonce noted that cultural exchangewill transcend estrangement，mutual learning will transcendclashes， and coexistence willtranscend feelings of superiority.Efforts should be made to promotemutual understanding， respect，and trust between differentcountries. For this reason， theSCO should establish a multilevelmechanism for people-topeopleand cultural exchanges andbuild more platforms and channelsfor cooperation， especially in thefield of culture. It should activelyinnovate models for culturalcooperation and advance relevantpractical projects.

Cultural Exchange under the SCO Framework

Cultural cooperation underthe SCO framework covers awide range of areas. The SCO hasestablished a variety of platformsthat play a significant role instrengthening people-to-peopleexchange and promoting politicaland economic cooperation amongmember states.

Within the framework of theSCO， several meeting mechanismsfor ministers of culture， education，science and technology， health，tourism， and other fields have beenlaunched. For instance， the FirstMeeting of Culture Ministers ofSCO Member States was heldin Beijing in April 2002， and atotal of 20 sessions had been heldby 2023. As of this year， SCOeducation ministers had convenedeight times， and some uniquecooperation platforms werearranged under this mechanismsuch as the joint expert group andSCO University.

In recent years， more and morepeople-to-people and culturalexchanges have been organizedunder the SCO framework， towhich China has made remarkablecontributions. After the 2017Astana summit， China took overthe SCO presidency. Hundredsof activities were organized， mostof which were groundbreakingevents concerning people-topeopleand cultural exchangessuch as the First SCO People’sForum held in Xi’an in 2018 andthe SCO Women’s Forum andthe SCO Media Summit held inBeijing. With different themes，those events promoted exchangeand communication betweenrelevant organizations andinstitutions and received acclaimfrom SCO member states.

SCO Community Based on Cultural Dialogue

At the 2018 Qingdao summit，President Xi proposed buildingan SCO community with a sharedfuture， putting forward a newgoal for people-to-people andcultural exchanges among SCOmember states. Building an SCOcommunity with a shared futuremeans constantly strengtheningpeople-to-people friendship，ensuring the people have a greatersense of gain， and winning thebroadest support among the people.

Unlike traditional regionalcooperation， building an SCOcommunity with a sharedfuture requires not onlyefforts from governments， butalso wide participation fromnon-governmental organizations，especially the media and youth.China has taken the lead inestablishing an SCO Committee onGood-neighborliness， Friendship，and Cooperation as a platform forpublic diplomacy， attracting morenon-governmental organizationsand think tank scholars tocontribute to building an SCOcommunity with a shared future.

Mutual learning amongcivilizations is the most solidfoundation for the developmentof the SCO. Since the verybeginning， SCO member states，observer states， and dialoguepartners from a diverse range ofcivilizations have unequivocallyadvocated full respect for culturaldiversity， peaceful coexistence，mutual learning， and commondevelopment. President Xi haselaborated on the Shanghai Spiritand its advocacy of equality，mutual learning， dialogue， andinclusiveness among civilizations，further clarifying new guidingprinciples for expanding people-topeopleand cultural exchanges andenhancing the cohesion and appealof the SCO.