The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held a summit in Xi'an, Shaanxi province. The SCO is a Eurasian political, economic, and military organization founded in Shanghai in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan. At the summit, economic and trade ministers of the member states adopted a draft aimed at further cooperation until 2021. The parties were focused on various forms of financial partnership, in particular loan provision, bilateral transactions in national currencies, and swap agreements.
The meeting was chaired by Gao Hucheng, China’s Minister of Commerce. The top official stated China is ready to use financing platforms such as Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Silk Road Fund to meet the investment needs of the SCO member states.
According to Gao Hucheng, to avoid unexpected risks caused by the global financial market, companies within the region are encouraged to use their own currencies to seal deals and build e-commerce platforms to save on both operating and trading costs.
The agenda also included investment cooperation on major infrastructure projects.
“Commerce and economy ministers gathered in Xi'an called for closer cooperation in investments, transport infrastructure development, as well as involvement of observer countries in the dialogue devoted to the regional economic partnership,” the chairman summed up.
