The SCO Deputy Secretary General Saidmurodzoda Visits the ICC

On 26 December 2025, Ahmad Saidmurodzoda, Deputy Secretary General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), visited the Jianguomen Office Area of the International Cooperation Center (ICC). Zhang Zhixiang, Member of the Strategic Advisory Committee of the ICC and a senior expert in international organizations and multilateral cooperation, Zhang Yu,  Convener of the Joint Meeting and Director of the Steering Committee of the ICC, met with Ahmad Saidmurodzoda. The two sides engaged in discussions on conducting research on regional and international issues, organizing high-level "Track 1.5" meetings, and establishing long-term exchange and cooperation mechanisms, reaching important consensus. Both sides expressed that the ICC will strengthen communication and coordination with the SCO Secretariat and SCO member states, constructively participate in SCO affairs, promote the building of a regional security community, and play an important role in advancing the construction and reform of the global governance system.

Zhang Zhixiang (Left) and Saidmurodzoda (Right)

The two sides believe that the world today is in a new period of turbulence and transformation, with the international situation undergoing profound changes and the international power balance experiencing a deep evolution, leading to significant adjustments in the political and economic order. In September this year, President Xi Jinping of China delivered an important speech at the SCO Summit in Tianjin, where he solemnly proposed the Global Governance Initiative. The ICC expressed gratitude to Deputy Secretary General Saidmurodzoda for representing the SCO Secretariat at the "Transformation and Future of Global Governance—International Dialogue Commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the United Nations" co-hosted by the UN System in China and the ICC on 27 November 2025, and for his remarks. Saidmurodzoda extended an invitation to the ICC to attend the 25th anniversary special meeting of the SCO in 2026. Both sides expressed their commitment to jointly organizing dialogue meetings in SCO member states in the future, to further consolidate consensus, enhance the development of the SCO, and deepen the "SCO model" for peaceful coexistence among countries with different historical cultures, social systems, and stages of development, thereby promoting the construction of an open and inclusive world economic system.

The SCO secretariat building

The SCO is an international organization co-founded by China and headquartered in China. Over the past 24 years since its establishment, the SCO has upheld the "Shanghai Spirit" featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations, and pursuit of common development, maintaining strong momentum for growth. Today, the SCO has evolved into a big family comprising 27 member states, spanning Asia, Europe, and Africa, with a combined population of nearly half of the world's total and an economic aggregate accounting for about one-quarter of the global total. It has become the most populous, geographically extensive, and dynamic regional cooperation organization in the world today. Both sides noted that since China assumed the SCO Chairmanship last year, it has hosted over 200 events, issued 92 outcome documents, and proposed 36 cooperation initiatives, driving forward a series of cooperative endeavors. The ICC will strengthen strategic coordination with the SCO Secretariat to propel the organization into a new stage of high-quality development marked by greater unity, enhanced collaboration, increased vitality, and greater effectiveness, making important contributions to maintaining regional and global peace and stability and promoting development and revitalization.

The meeting for exchange

The two sides also discussed other important matters. Before the talks, Saidmurodzoda conveyed the greetings and New Year wishes of SCO Secretary-General Yermekbayev to Zhang Zhixiang. The two sides exchanged views on the reform, transformation, and modernization of the SCO, aligning with the priority tasks and main directions of the SCO Development Strategy for the Next Decade (2026-2030). Mu Dong, Asia-Pacific Affairs Special Representative of the ICC, Cheng Yu, Executive Secretary-General of the ICC, Zhang Bin, Deputy Director of the Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese Working Committee at the ICC, Wu Zhonglin, Executive Director of the Development Committee at the ICC, Xin Shaosong, Deputy Director of the ICC’s Secretariat Office, and Sai Tejia Muthineni, Referent in International Cooperation Department at SCO Secretariat attended the meeting.