SCO Summit Calls for Turning the Shanghai Spirit into Practical Cooperation

Dragon Media News Desk

The 2026 Shanghai Cooperation Organization Media and Think Tank Summit is being held in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

The summit, jointly hosted by China’s Xinhua News Agency and Kyrgyzstan’s Kabar National News Agency, has brought together around 260 representatives from nearly 150 leading media organisations, renowned think tanks, government departments, the SCO Secretariat and other institutions.

At the opening ceremony and plenary session held on Monday, participants discussed ways to deepen cooperation in various fields under the theme, “The Shanghai Spirit in the New Era: From Shared Values to Practical Cooperation.” The summit is being held from Sunday through Thursday.

The year 2026 marks the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the SCO. Addressing the SCO Tianjin Summit in September 2025, Chinese President Xi Jinping said the organisation had established the Shanghai Spirit at its founding, based on mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for the diversity of civilisations and the pursuit of common development.

According to Xi, SCO member states have achieved groundbreaking and historic progress in the organisation’s development and cooperation by sharing opportunities and pursuing common development in accordance with the Shanghai Spirit.

Mohammad Mehdi Rahmati, chief executive officer of Iran’s Mehr Media Group, said the Shanghai Spirit provides the foundation for building a shared understanding among SCO member states.

He said such an understanding would guide the development and capacity-building efforts of member states in a targeted and appropriate direction.

Kadyrbek Sarbaev, a senior expert at the SCO Secretariat, said the organisation is emerging as an important force in Eurasia by upholding the Shanghai Spirit. He added that the SCO’s voice has become increasingly prominent and influential at both regional and global levels.

Subhiddin Shamsiddinzoda, director of Tajikistan’s Khovar News Agency, said the SCO has become a representative model of multilateral cooperation by bringing together countries with different cultures, histories, economic strengths and development paths on the basis of mutual respect.

The summit has given particular attention to expanding practical cooperation in media, culture, the economy, education, technology and human resources.

Andrei Mokhar, director-general of the Belarusian Telegraph Agency, said the role of the media in shaping objective and fair international public opinion has become increasingly important amid rapid changes in the global landscape.

He said deeper exchanges and cooperation among media organisations in SCO countries could significantly improve the quality and effectiveness of cultural communication.

Igor Shestakov, director of Kyrgyzstan’s Center for Expert Initiatives “Oi Ordo,” said the SCO possesses unique and enormous soft-power potential. He noted that further study is needed on how to transform the strong expert capacity of member states into genuine integration projects.

Marat Abulkhatin, deputy director-general of Russia’s TASS News Agency, said TASS and Xinhua had recently completed the first stage of joint interviews in Russia and were preparing to conduct the second phase in China.

He said strong ties are built through in-depth dialogue, joint work and a deeper understanding of each other’s real lives, adding that such relationships form the foundation of the Shanghai Spirit.

Maksat Chakyev, president of the Central Asian International Chamber of Commerce, said the SCO has created a space of mutual trust among member states with different cultures, economic models and national interests.

He said the organisation’s next major task is to transform that trust into stronger economic links and create new space for common development and value addition.

Mirzokhid Rakhimov, head of a department at the Center for Contemporary History under the Uzbekistan Academy of Sciences, said SCO member states are expanding close partnerships in education, culture and human-resources development projects.

He said these initiatives are promoting greater exchanges and cooperation among the peoples of member countries.

Mohammed Saqib, secretary-general of the India-China Economic and Cultural Council, said the importance of the Shanghai Spirit in the new era lies not only in uniting countries around shared values but also in promoting common systems and providing an action plan for inclusive governance.

He said the summit’s theme is not merely a title but a call to translate declarations of cooperation into concrete action.

According to Xinhua, participants emphasised the need to strengthen cooperation between media organisations and think tanks within the SCO and transform shared values into tangible projects, economic connectivity, cultural exchanges and stronger people-to-people relations.