China hosts the SCO Media and Think Tank Summit in Zhengzhou

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Media and Think Tank Summit opened on Thursday in Zhengzhou, the capital of China’s Henan Province, bringing together more than 400 representatives from media outlets, international and regional organisations from SCO member states and dialogue partners.

The event is co-hosted by Xinhua, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and the Henan provincial government, under the guidance of China’s State Council Information Office. 

It will run until July 27.

Azerbaijan is represented by officials from the Azerbaijan State News Agency (AZERTAC), the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), and the Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC).

Opening remarks were delivered by Mo Gaoyi, Deputy Director of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of the State Council Information Office of China; Fu Hua, President of Xinhua News Agency; and Peng Jinhui, Vice President of the Chinese Academy for Social Sciences. 

The speakers stressed the importance of sustainable development and mutually beneficial cooperation in a changing global environment.

The summit announced its key outcome document, the “Zhengzhou Consensus,” focusing on upholding the “Shanghai Spirit” to promote peace, prosperity, and cross-national harmony. The event highlights the role of media and think tanks in strengthening people-to-people exchanges among SCO members.

Founded in 2001 in Shanghai by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, the SCO aims to boost political, economic, cultural, scientific, and educational cooperation; promote energy, transportation, tourism, and environmental protection; safeguard regional peace and stability; and encourage a democratic and equitable international order.

Azerbaijan became an SCO dialogue partner at the Ufa Summit in 2015. Under a memorandum signed in Beijing in 2016, Azerbaijan and the SCO agreed to cooperate on regional security and stability, including counter-terrorism, anti-extremism, and anti-separatism.

President Ilham Aliyev has taken part in the SCO summits in Samarkand in 2022 and Astana in 2024. During the Astana meeting, Chinese President Xi Jinping invited Aliyev to attend the SCO summit to be held in China in 2025.

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