On March 12, the Chinese Ambassador to Bahrain Ni Ruchi published a signed article ‘Turning Vision into Reality’ in People’s Daily. The full text is as follows:

Since China took over the presidency of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), it has put into practice the slogan “Upholding the Shanghai Spirit: SCO on the Move”, deepened of practical cooperation in various fields, consolidated mutual political trust, safeguarded common security, promoted common prosperity, strengthened people-to-people contacts and enhanced the effectiveness of the mechanism, thus providing new impetus to the security, stability and development of the countries in the region.

At the Astana Summit of the “SCO plus”, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed jointly building a common home of the SCO, featuring solidarity and mutual trust, peace and tranquility, prosperity and development, good-neighborliness and friendship, and fairness and justice, drawing up a new blueprint for the development of the Organization. China will use this as a guide to host the 25th meeting of the Council of Heads of SCO member states, further strengthen cooperation with SCO partners in the political, security, economic, humanities and other fields, maintain good unity and cooperation, put into practice the concept of common, comprehensive, cooperative and sustainable security, promote the concept of civilization based on equality, mutual understanding, dialogue and inclusiveness, and strive to enhance cooperation in the fields of trade, investment, energy, digital economy, modern agriculture, green development, etc. China will also continue to promote cooperation in areas of energy and digital economy, trade and investment, modern agriculture, green development and other areas, and give full play to the important role of the SCO as a security barrier, a bridge of cooperation, a bond of friendship and a constructive force in the region.

Shanghai Spirit, namely, mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations and pursuit of common development, has been shown to be the source of strength for the development of the SCO. In the 24 years since its establishment, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization has expanded from its first six founding members to a “SCO family” comprising 26 countries, with a growing number of partners and a more solid foundation for cooperation. Under the guidance of the Shanghai Spirit, SCO member states have made common progress in exchanges and mutual understanding, sought common development in an inclusive manner, and achieved mutual benefits and win-win results in pragmatic cooperation, playing an important role in promoting inclusive economic globalization and equal and orderly multipolarization, and injecting powerful momentum into the construction of a new type of international relations with win-win cooperation at its core. It will also give strong impetus to the building of a new type of international relations centered on win-win cooperation. Bahrain and other Arab countries generally agree with the Shanghai Spirit and have actively applied for membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, with nearly half of the 14 dialogue partners of the Organization being Arab countries.

Bahrain attaches great importance to and actively participates in activities within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. In 2022, the Samarkand Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization included Bahrain as a dialogue partner. In 2024, Bahrain submitted the Action Plan for Cooperation for 2024-2026 to the SCO Secretariat, emphasizing the high degree of compatibility between the Shanghai Spirit and Bahrain's development philosophy. In May 2024, Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with His Majesty King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa of Bahrain during His Majesty’s state visit to China, and the two sides agreed to upgrade China-Bahrain relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership, strengthen communication and coordination on multilateral platforms, practice genuine multilateralism, and safeguard the common interests of the vast number of developing countries. In recent years, Bahrain and China have maintained close coordination and communication within the framework of the SCO, and the Bahraini side has actively participated in the Green Development Forum, the Women’s Forum and other activities of the SCO, so as to jointly put into practice the Shanghai Spirit and join hands to build a closer SCO community with a shared future.

“By setting sail together, we could ride the wind, break the waves, and brave the journey of ten thousand miles.” China will work with our partners in the Organization including Bahrain, to adhere to the fine tradition of solidarity and collaboration, the way of cooperation based on equality and reciprocity, the pursuit of the values of fairness and justice, and the broad mindset of tolerance and mutual understanding, actively implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative, and strive to realize the vision of building a common home featuring solidarity and mutual trust, peace and tranquility, prosperity and development, good-neighborliness and friendship, and fairness and justice, so as to make greater contributions to the promotion of peace, stability, development and prosperity in the region and the world together.