The commemorative monument of SCO Qingdao Summit on December 8, 2020 Photo: VCG

A top diplomat from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) on Tuesday questioned "certain countries" for wanting to replace international law with an alleged rule-based world order. 

"Are these moves aimed at spreading their ideology or promoting international governance?" Grigory Logvinov, Deputy Secretary General of the SCO, said at the SCO Governance and Leadership Forum organized by the National Governance Academy in Beijing as part of the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the founding of the regional bloc. 

The diplomat did not specify which are those countries. However, during his meeting with visiting US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman in Tianjin on Monday, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Xie Feng noted that the so-called rule-based international order put forward by the US disguises policies set up by a few Western countries. It is the US version of the "law of the jungle" which abandons the widely accepted international law and tramples on the international system to profit and bully others.

Diplomats and scholars from SCO member states participating in the forum will discuss issues such as the leadership of ruling parties and national development, the handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and governance modernization, and opportunities and challenges of regional cooperation. 

Logvinov noted that against the backdrop of the ravaging COVID-19 pandemic across the world, the international community still lacks the driving force to work together to minimize the impact of the global health crisis and eradicate the virus. 

SCO stakeholders should enhance communication on governance, respecting diversity, without interference in the internal affairs of other countries, added Logvinov.

Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Le Yucheng (middle) delivers a keynote speech at Tuesday's forum. Photo: Wang Wenwen/GT

Le Yucheng, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister, said in a keynote speech at the forum on Tuesday that a lesson for SCO countries is that national governance must be based on their own conditions. 

"We should not abandon our traditions or blindly copy other countries' models. National governance requires a strong leadership supported by its people and a stable internal and external environment," said Le. 

Almazbek Akmataliev, Rector of the Academy of Management under the President of the Kyrgyz Republic, proposed at the forum that SCO member states should craft an unified cooperation guideline like the EU to expand cooperation in governance. He said Kyrgyzstan has already learned from China and Russia, especially from China's  reform and opening-up. 

Vladimir Mau, Rector of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, suggested the creation of a website to provide training to specialists from SCO countries on governance.