SHANGHAI • State-run Chinese media yesterday crowed about a weekend meeting of a regional security bloc hosted by China, painting it as a harmonious, anti-protectionist counterpoint to the Group of Seven (G-7) summit in Canada that was marred by acrimony.
The Global Times, a nationalistic tabloid run by the ruling Communist Party's main newspaper, the People's Daily, asked why the G-7 had "ended in disarray" while the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in the port city of Qingdao was "full of enthusiasm and ambition".
"The key lies in that the Shanghai Spirit, featuring mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for cultural diversity and pursuit of common development, echoes the theme of the era, in which unilateralism can hardly prevail," it said.
It said criticism of the G-7 meeting and praise for the SCO summit marked "an important change".
In the Canadian province of Quebec at the weekend, US President Donald Trump threw the G-7's efforts to show a united front into disorder by leaving early, backing out of a joint communique and taking aim at Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
The SCO meeting in China, meanwhile, set what the China Daily newspaper said was a good example of multilateral cooperation, offering a "new vision" for a more just and equitable world.
"Against the backdrop of rising unilateralism and anti-globalisation, the SCO's opposition to trade protectionism in any form is especially encouraging," said the English-language daily.
In a separate piece, the newspaper made the case for a united front against Mr Trump.
"The G-7 summit has served as another reminder that it is the Trump administration that is challenging the international rules-based order," it said.
The SCO was launched in 2001 to combat radical Islam and other security concerns in China, Russia and four former Soviet Central Asian republics. It added two new members, India and Pakistan, last year.
REUTERS
