XU Qinhua: Building Consensus for Development and Opening a New Chapter of Cooperation

The member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) are highly complementary in terms of resource endowments and industrial structures, and are fully capable of upgrading standalone clean energy projects into transnational green industrial chains. The SCO’s green industries should continue to expand their incremental growth. On one hand, emblematic projects such as the China-Kazakhstan Zhanatas Wind Power Plant and the China-Uzbekistan Buka Photovoltaic Power Project can serve as anchors for further scaling up photovoltaic and wind power capacity. On the other hand, by focusing on green hydrogen production, energy storage batteries, and new energy vehicles, the organization should jointly build three major public platforms for technology R&D, standards mutual recognition, and carbon footprint tracking, so as to transform a single green energy advantage into the collective advantage of green industrial clusters.

Shifting from an inward focus to a dual emphasis on both internal and external cooperation, the SCO Development Strategy for the Next Ten Years (2026–2035) demonstrates a new orientation for growth, bringing far-reaching impacts for regional countries and the wider world.

From regional to global reach

The cooperation radius will expand from the region to the globe, actively aligning with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, BRICS cooperation, and the Belt and Road Initiative. It will link the markets, capital, and technologies of Central Asia, South Asia, West Asia, and an even broader range of developing countries, forming a channel for delivering “SCO solutions”.

From project-driven to institution-driven

The cooperation mechanism will upgrade from being project-driven to institution-driven, focusing on building a resilient regional supply chain. By relying on institutional public goods such as rules, standards, and financial instruments, and through unified green standards, digital certification, and local currency settlement systems, the efficiency and resilience of regional industrial chains will be enhanced.

From government-led to multi-stakeholder driven

Cooperation dynamics will shift from being government-led to jointly promoted by multiple actors. Through platforms such as local economic and trade cooperation zones, agricultural demonstration bases, and digital training bases, a multidimensional pattern of interaction will be formed among governments, enterprises, think tanks, and financial institutions.

(The above is an excerpted translation of views expressed by XU Qinhua, Vice Dean of the National Academy of Development and Strategy at Renmin University of China, in an interview with Economic Daily.)

Original article link:[Economic Daily] Building Consensus for Development and Opening a New Chapter of Cooperation

Translator: ZHANG Yuqing

Web Editor: ZHANG Jingjing