Oriented on making people closer

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to Turkmenistan Ji Shumin spoke in an interview about the key results of recent events in China, emphasizing their strategic importance for bilateral relations. The diplomat shared his vision of the results of the SCO summit in Tianjin, the large-scale parade in honor of the 80th anniversary of the Victory, and also commented on the meeting of Chinese President Xi Jinping with Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, calling it a new important stage for the development of partnership.

— Mr. Ambassador, as the largest summit since the establishment of the SCO, what results did the Tianjin Summit bring and what important impact will it have on the further development of the SCO?

— From August 31 to September 1, the 2025 Shanghai Cooperation Organization Summit was successfully held in Tianjin. Chinese President Xi Jinping, together with 23 heads of foreign states or their representatives, as well as 10 heads of international organizations, gathered on the banks of the Haihe River to jointly discuss development and cooperation issues. This is the first SCO summit in the past seven years that China has hosted again. It is also the largest summit in the history of the SCO and the most fruitful in terms of results. In the face of global changes unseen in a century, the Tianjin Summit raised high the banner of the "Shanghai Spirit", called on the parties to accumulate consensus, intensified the momentum of cooperation among countries in the region, proposed an "SCO plan" for building a fair and reasonable system of global governance, and contributed "SCO strength" to the cause of building a community with a shared future for mankind.

From July 2024, when China assumed the rotating presidency, before the Tianjin Summit in September 2025, China adhered to the principles of “action first” and “practicality above all”, holding more than 200 various events, publishing 92 outcome documents, and putting forward 36 major cooperation initiatives.

The Tianjin Summit produced eight broad and fruitful results:

a development strategy for the SCO for the next 10 years was formulated;

a fair voice was heard in defense of the results of the victory in World War II;

a fair position was expressed in support of the multilateral trading system;

“Four security centers” were established;

a political decision was made to establish the SCO Development Bank;

six platforms for practical cooperation were created;

six action plans for high-quality development were developed;

A new breakthrough has been achieved in the SCO reform - the number of members of the “big SCO family” has increased to 27 countries.

These and other results focus on the key themes of organization building, regional cooperation and global governance, covering both traditional political, security and economic issues and cutting-edge areas such as the digital economy and green industry, further demonstrating the SCO's pragmatic style as a "doer" and "action-oriented".

Looking to the future, the SCO, starting from the Tianjin Summit as a new starting point, will enter a new stage of high-quality development - more united, more coordinated, more energetic and more effective, making new contributions to the economic and social development of the countries in the region, to the promotion of universal values and genuine multilateralism.

President Serdar Berdimuhamedov attended and addressed the meeting in the "SCO Plus" format as a guest of the chairing country. He stated that the Turkmen side attaches great importance to the SCO, consistently takes an active part in cooperation within the SCO, and is ready to continue to take measures aimed at deepening cooperation in the areas of transport and logistics infrastructure, communications, energy, trade and industry, taking cooperation with the SCO to a new level.

— President Xi Jinping put forward the Global Governance Initiative for the first time at the SCO Tianjin Summit. Please tell us about its content and international impact.

— The Global Governance Initiative put forward by President Xi Jinping became a highlight of the SCO Tianjin Summit and turned it into a summit that shows humanity the direction to move forward. This year is the 80th anniversary of the Victory in World War II and the 80th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, which is a “big year” for global governance. At this moment, the proposal of the Global Governance Initiative meets the common aspirations of the people of all countries and the urgent needs of the modern world; it has been welcomed and supported not only by the heads of state but also by international organizations.

It will inevitably meet with increasing active response and broad recognition from the international community. The Global Governance Initiative includes five key ideas: adhering to sovereign equality; maintain commitment to international law; adhere to the principle of multilateralism; adhere to a human-centered approach; maintain commitment to efficiency. The initiative outlined the principles, methods and ways of reforming and improving global governance. These spiritual guidelines are in tune with the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, and encourage countries, relying on the UN and other multilateral mechanisms, to advance the reform and construction of a global governance system in step with the times and effectively respond to the challenges of the era.

During the meeting, President Berdimuhamedov noted that the Global Governance Initiative put forward by President Xi Jinping contributes to improving the system of international relations. The Turkmen side expresses its full support and readiness for its joint implementation.

The Global Governance Initiative is another important initiative of China along with the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative. The four initiatives have different priorities and can be implemented in parallel. They bring stability and certainty to the rapidly changing world from different angles, demonstrating China's active role and responsibility in international affairs. The Chinese side will strengthen coordination with its partners, including Turkmenistan, in order to faithfully implement the Global Governance Initiative, promote the formation of a more just and reasonable global governance system, and jointly move towards a community with a shared future for mankind.

— On September 3, China held a large-scale parade to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the World Anti-Fascist War. Please tell us about the main events and their significance.

— On the morning of September 3, 2025, a large-scale parade was held in Tiananmen Square to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and the Victory in the World Anti-Fascist War. This is a common holiday for the Chinese people and all peace-loving peoples and countries of the world. PRC Chairman Xi Jinping delivered an important speech and reviewed the parade of troops. The event was attended by 61 high-level foreign guests - heads of state and government, including President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, as well as heads of international organizations, former statesmen, etc.

The parade, which was held on a grand scale, involved 45 parade units, demonstrating such important features as the more advanced military power structures of the PLA, the increasing share of new-quality forces in new directions, as well as a more advanced system of the armed forces. All the weapons and equipment on display were domestically produced, the main models in service; this was the largest presentation of the new generation of weapons and equipment of the PLA since the National Day Parade of 2019.

The latest parade is a profound memory of the enormous sacrifices of the Chinese nation and a solemn tribute to the Great Victory of the Chinese people, perpetuating their great merits in defending national independence and the freedom, sovereignty and dignity of the motherland. As part of the large-scale parade in honor of the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the Victory in the World Anti-Fascist War, Chinese and foreign guests gathered in Beijing to watch the ceremony, demonstrating the common aspiration of the international community for peace and development, as well as the profound lessons of the Victory over fascism for the world.

The Chinese people will forever remember the precious support of the people of other countries during the years of resistance, and will forever cherish the peace jointly defended by the international community. China will confidently stand on the right side of history, on the side of the progress of human civilization, and is ready to make even greater contributions to the cause of peace and development throughout the world.

— On September 2, President Xi Jinping met with President Serdar Berdimuhamedov. As the head of the Chinese diplomatic mission in Ashgabat, how do you assess the impact of this meeting on bilateral relations between China and Turkmenistan?

— China and Turkmenistan are united by strong political trust, a strong will to cooperate and an obvious advantage in complementarity. After the June summit in Astana, the heads of the two states met again in Beijing, which testifies to the high level of Chinese-Turkmen relations and gives new impetus to their development.

Firstly, the strategic trust between our countries is continuously deepening. The heads of the two states emphasized their commitment to the traditional friendship between China and Turkmenistan and once again confirmed their desire to deepen the comprehensive strategic partnership.

Chairman Xi Jinping stressed that China and Turkmenistan are reliable partners who trust each other. The Chinese side is ready to deepen cooperation and exchanges with the Turkmen side and build a community of shared destiny between China and Turkmenistan. President Berdimuhamedov, in turn, noted that the Belt and Road Initiative and Turkmenistan's strategy of "Revival of the Great Silk Road" complement each other perfectly; the conjugation of the two processes will bring new results to Chinese-Turkmen relations.

Secondly, energy cooperation is making steady progress. Cooperation in the gas sector is one of the main pillars of Chinese-Turkmen relations. At the regular meeting, the heads of the two states confirmed their intention to increase the scale of cooperation in the gas sector and strengthen the model of mutually beneficial energy cooperation between our countries.

Thirdly, interaction in the multilateral arena is becoming more effective. Thanks to the improvement of the China-Central Asia cooperation mechanism and the expansion of cooperation areas within the SCO, regional multilateral platforms are creating new spaces and opportunities for the high-quality development of Chinese-Turkmen relations. The leaders of China and Turkmenistan emphasized that they are ready to closely coordinate and interact within the said multilateral mechanisms.

Fourthly, new opportunities await exchanges and cooperation in the humanitarian area. The parties signed a number of bilateral documents on cooperation in the fields of intellectual property, mass media and education.

This is the fruit of the dynamic development of bilateral relations and an objective need for bilateral cooperation.

Today, more and more young people from Turkmenistan are going to China to study, seeking to better master the Chinese language in order to get to know China and Chinese culture better. And the steadily enriching legal framework will give bilateral humanitarian cooperation a new powerful dynamic.

In short, the Beijing meeting of the leaders of China and Turkmenistan has outlined a new blueprint for the development of bilateral relations. We are ready, together with the Turkmen side, to carefully implement the agreements reached by the heads of the two countries and achieve even more tangible results and justify the expectations of the peoples of both countries.

Photo: orient.tm