The revival of Eurasia entails both stability and economic growth.
The 16th meeting of the heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) will begin on Thursday in Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan, and it is the leaders' responsibility to work together in that direction.[Special coverage]
From 2001, security and economic cooperation have been the two "wheels" of the SCO. Now, apart from regular joint counter-terrorism drills, members are extending the organization's reach into finance, energy, food and the environment.
The prospects for economic cooperation are brightened by the linkage of China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative, which seeks to form a trade, investment and infrastructure network to connect Asia with Europe and Africa, and the construction of the Eurasian Economic Union(EAEU).
In recent years the two "wheels" have spun increasingly in tandem. Terrorism and extremism simmer on all fronts and every nation is faced with systematic financial risk. Food security and humanitarian crises challenge underdeveloped countries in the region. SCO members dare not turn a blind eye to these risks that undermine stability and hamper development.
The capability of the SCO in handling security issues is beyond doubt. In 2015, with the help of SCO anti-terrorism body, more than 150 members of international terrorist organizations were killed and 1,000 accomplices arrested.
It is time for that same fruitful cooperation on the security front to be brought to bear on economic growth. The "wheel" of economic cooperation cannot be allowed to lag behind. Members are exploring fiscal and financial cooperation and contemplating the creation of an SCO development bank.
China has proposed six platforms for cooperation -- connectivity, finance, production capacity, security, social affairs and trade -- new directions for the SCO to face down economic pressure, low energy prices and a slow global recovery.
This is the 15th year of the SCO, an exemplary bloc of good neighbors, friendship and mutual benefit.
In that time, China has been a willing and a positive contributor to stability in Eurasia and regional economic development, and now looks forward to many more fruitful years to come.
