Crisis response

EDUCATIONAL TIES: Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visits a high school in St. Petersburg on November 6 (YAO DAWEI)

A highlight of the SCO prime ministers' meeting this year was the joint statement issued at the closing. It was the first time for SCO prime ministers to issue a joint statement on the economic situation of the world and the SCO region, said Chen Yurong, Director of the Department for SCO Studies at the China Institute of International Studies.

The statement addressed the most sensitive and difficult problem in the world today—the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the CICIR's Wang said.

"If the ongoing European sovereign debt crisis cannot be properly solved, it will cause domino effects," he said. "Its deterioration will hinder progress in world economic recovery and endanger the economies of China, Russia and other SCO members."

It was of great significance for the organization to clearly express its stance on this issue, Wang said.

The joint statement showed SCO member states realized insufficient financing and lack of supervision were the major reasons for the global financial crisis, Chen said.

It was urgent for the SCO to accelerate regional economic integration, strengthen financial cooperation, smooth financing channels and ensure big cooperative projects are adequately funded, she said.

Amid the increasing uncertainties of global markets, SCO member states should further strengthen economic cooperation in a bid to minimize the negative effects of the global crisis on their banking and financial sectors, said the statement.

According to the statement, SCO countries will continue to work with the international community toward realizing the goal of establishing a "just, fair, inclusive and harmonious global financial order" that can make all countries benefit from globalization.