President Xi proposes a Silk Road economic belt

From Sept. 9-13, Xi visited Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan, and attended the G20 and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summits, during which he outlined China's global and Central Asian policies.

In a speech delivered at Nazarbayev University on Sept. 7, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed a Silk Road economic belt to boost cooperation with Eurasian countries.

"China respects the development path as well as the domestic and foreign policies that the Central Asian people have chosen for themselves," said Xi. "China will never intervene in the internal affairs of Central Asian countries, try to lead regional affairs, or operate a sphere of influence."

The Silk Road Economic Belt would be a continuation of the ancient Silk Road, established more than 2,000 years ago. The countries of the "Silk Road" have a total population of three billion and a market that is unparalleled both in scale and potential, Xi said.

Xi believes that the regional cooperation project can be made possible by strengthening policy communication, road connections, trade facilitation, currency circulation and people-to-people exchanges.

"The Silk Road economic belt is a common aspiration of the countries in the region. There is huge potential for development, and for bringing countries in the region closer and deepening their cooperation," Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said.

Jon Taylor, a professor of political science at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, said that given China's strategy of developing its western regions, it is logical to extend the policy into Central Asia by strengthening relations with its western neighbors, for economic and security reasons.

"Proposing a new Silk Road is a strategic necessity for China. As a great power, China has to protect its vital economic interests and political influence in the region. The new Silk Road proposal does that," he said.

China calls for G20 to improve global economic governance

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the G20 members to improve global economic governance during his speech at the G20 summit in St. Petersburg.

"As a platform for developed countries and developing countries to discuss international economic affairs, we need to build the G20 into an important force to stabilize the world economy, create an international financial safety net and improve global economic governance," said Xi.

He called for reform of the international financial institutions, including the quota and governance reform plans for the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Xi also called on the major economies to adopt a responsible macroeconomic policy, believing that they have a minimum duty of keeping their own house in order.

Facing worries of China's economic slowdown, Xi confirmed that China's economic fundamentals are sound and its economic policy is taking responsibility for both China and the world.

Meanwhile, Xi called on G20 members to promote an open world economy and oppose all forms of trade protectionism.

Nandan Unnikrishnan, vice president of India's Observer Research Foundation, said that Xi's proposal for global economic governance was "positive and constructive" against the backdrop of an interconnected world where the development of any one country relies on others.

SCO members should combat the 'three evil forces'

The Chinese President Xi Jinping called on all the SCO members to jointly combat the "three evil forces" of terrorism, separatism and extremism and help Afghanistan achieve peace and stability, and safeguard regional security.

The SCO countries should support each other on issues related to sovereignty, security, territorial integrity, political systems, social stability, and development models, Xi said.

"Countries should be aware of a growing tendency of terrorism and drug crime in the region," Xi said in an interview with media.

Xi said that the SCO Regional Counter-Terrorism Structure should have an anti-narcotics function to enhance its overall ability to fight both terrorism and drug trafficking.

"Drugs have become an important source of funds for the 'three evil forces' in the SCO region," said Li Wei, an anti-terrorism expert with the China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations.

"Drugs produced near the Afghanistan and Iranian border areas will flow to Europe via central Asia or Xinjiang in China."

The overall security situation in Central Asia is stable, said Zhang Xinfeng, director of the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorism Agency of the SCO, ahead of SCO Summit in Bishkek.

Cooperation on security, which has been one of its key tasks since the SCO was founded in Shanghai in 2001, will remain the bloc's top priority in the future.

In a joint declaration, the SCO leaders called for concerted efforts to fight international terrorism, separatism, extremism, transnational organized crime and other illicit activities and improve the legal basis for cooperation in these areas.