2011-04-25 19:59

BEIJING - China vowed here on Monday to step up its cooperation with other members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on defense and security.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping made the pledge when he met collectively with the military chiefs of the SCO members, who convened here to review SCO cooperation in the defence and security sectors.

Xi praised the SCO's cooperation over the past 10 years since its establishment, noting that the organization has played a constructive role in Europe-Asia geopolitics.

The SCO has set an example for regional cooperation regarding the ?promotion of peace, stability and prosperity, Xi added.

Xi, who is also vice chairman of China's Central Military Commission, pointed out that the SCO cooperation on defense and security has yielded significant achievements and injected significant vitality into the relations among the SCO member nations.

China highly values its exchanges and cooperation on defense and security with the SCO members, and will work closer with them under the SCO framework and based on the principle of mutual trust and mutual benefit to competently crack down on new security threats, including the ?"three evil forces" of separatism, extremism and terrorism, in a bid to maintain a stable and peaceful environment for the the SCO members' national development, Xi said.

The SCO military chiefs, namely Kazakhstan's first deputy defence minister and chief of staff Saken Zhasuzakov, Kyrgyzstan's first deputy defence minister and chief of the general staff Taalaibek Omuraliev, Russian's first deputy defence minister and chief of the general staff Nikolai Makarov, Tajikistan's first deputy defense minister and chief of the staff Ramil Khalilovich Nadirov, Uzbekistan's deputy defense minister Rustam Niyazov and Chen Bingde, chief of the general staff of the Chinese People' s Liberation Army, voiced joint commitment to further develop cooperation on defense and security.

Founded in 2001, the SCO consists of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.