SCO comes of age for regional development

This year's annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is due to be held in Russian city of Yekaterinburg today. President Hu Jintao will attend the two-day summit, the ninth of it kind, and the first meeting of BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) leaders.

Since its founding in 2001, the SCO, a regional organization that includes China, Russia and four central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, has maintained a good development momentum and accumulated rich experience of promoting regional economic and security cooperation.

The Yekaterinburg summit will offer a platform for SCO leaders to review the results of its cooperation so far. The enduring vigor of the organization may be attributed to its founding political principles, including adherence to the principles of peace, cooperation, openness and not targeting a third party. Besides, its principles such as mutual trust and benefit, equality, coordination and respect for each other's diversity as well as aspiration for a common development, the "Shanghai spirit" has also contributed much to the organization's steady advancement over the past eight years.