From July 3 to 5, 2025, the 2025 SCO Forum on People-to-People Friendship and the Forum on Friendship Cities was successfully held in Shenyang. Shen Yueyue, Vice Chairperson of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and President of the Good-Neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation Commission of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (hereinafter referred to as the GNFCC SCO), attended the opening ceremony and delivered the keynote speech. Hao Peng, Secretary of the CPC Liaoning Provincial Committee and Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Liaoning Provincial People's Congress; Yang Wanming, President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC); Marat Imankulov, State Secretary of Kyrgyzstan; Ziyafat Asgarov, Vice President of the Milli Majlis of the Republic of Azerbaijan; and Nurlan Yermekbayev, Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, delivered their remarks. Wang Xinwei, Deputy Secretary of the CPC Liaoning Provincial Committee, Governor of Liaoning Province, presided over the opening ceremony.
(President Yang Wanming delivers remarks at the opening ceremony)
President Yang Wanming remarked that 2025 has been designated as the SCO's "China Year" and "SCO Year of Sustainable Development." With the SCO Tianjin Summit just around the corner, it holds particular relevance and significance for China, as the rotating presidency, to host this forum under the theme "Deepening People-to-People Friendship, Advancing Sustainable Development." It represents a tangible step toward advancing the shared goal embodied in the initiative "SCO in Action."
President Yang Wanming noted that the world is currently undergoing profound and accelerating changes unseen in a century, marked by prolonged geopolitical tensions and an unrelenting emergence of complex global challenges. Factors of instability and uncertainty are on the rise. Against this backdrop, the "Shanghai Spirit" advocated by the SCO is demonstrating renewed vitality and growing contemporary significance. More than ever before, we need to work together to overcome difficulties, strengthen people-to-people bonds, foster greater consensus among our peoples, and consolidate and elevate the SCO as a platform for cooperation, so as to jointly address global challenges. President Yang stated that the CPAFFC remains committed to working with all SCO countries to stand on the right side of history and uphold fairness and justice. The CPAFFC will continue to build bridges of mutual understanding to deepen people-to-people friendship; expand networks of friendship cities to enhance the quality and effectiveness of subnational cooperation; promote cultural exchange to advance shared SCO values; and foster youth engagement to cultivate a new generation of friendship ambassadors. These collective efforts will help usher the SCO into a new stage of high-quality development—one that is more united, collaborative, dynamic, and results-oriented.
(President Yang Wanming meets with CPAFFC-invited guests and signs cooperation documents)
During the forum, President Yang Wanming met with: Kahraman Sariev, Chairman of the Committee on Interethnic Relations and Friendly Ties with Foreign Countries under the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan; Sabirov, Director of the SCO Center for People-to-People Diplomacy of Uzbekistan; Abidov, Chairperson of the Uzbekistan Friendship Cities Alliance; Guseva, Co-Chair of the All-Russian Association for the Development of Local Self-Government; Barsky, Vice President of the Russia-China Friendship Association; as well as the mayors of Yaroslavl, Arkhangelsk, Tomsk, Kogalym, and other Russian cities. President Yang signed separate memoranda of understanding (MOUs) on institutional cooperation with Guseva and Sabirov, and witnessed the signing of a MOU between the China-Central Asia Friendship Association and the Uzbekistan Friendship Cities Alliance.
During the meetings, President Yang extended a warm welcome to the guests and expressed appreciation for their participation in the forum at the invitation of the CPAFFC. He noted that their presence reflects the strong commitment of two countries' subnational governments and civil society to deepening friendship city cooperation and people-to-people exchanges under the SCO framework. President Yang emphasized that the SCO is the world's largest and most populous regional organization, whose influence, cohesion, and appeal continue to grow. It has become a model for a new type of international relations and regional cooperation. He called on all parties to deepen collaboration in fields such as people-to-people diplomacy, subnational engagement, cultural exchanges, and youth development within the SCO framework, in order to further strengthen the friendship among SCO countries and build a more solid foundation of public support for the organization's long-term development.
The foreign guests unanimously acknowledged that the SCO Forum on People-to-People Friendship and the Forum on Friendship Cities has become a vital platform for dialogue and exchange among countries of the SCO Family. It has offered a meaningful opportunity for friendship organizations and international friendship cities to address pressing and relevant issues, and to pursue cooperation that aligns with the shared interests of their peoples. All parties should make full use of this platform to advance collaboration in fields such as people-to-people exchanges, subnational engagement, economy and trade, culture, sci-tech innovation, media, and youth, etc., thereby injecting fresh momentum into the building of a closer SCO community with a shared future.
The SCO Forum on People-to-People Friendship and the Forum on Friendship Cities is a regular institutional cooperation initiative co-launched by the CPAFFC and the GNFCC SCO. The forum has been previously held in Wuhan, Hubei Province in 2021, and in Qingdao, Shandong Province in 2023. The 2025 edition of the forum was co-hosted by the GNFCC SCO, the CPAFFC, and the People's Government of Liaoning Province, and organized by the People's Government of Shenyang Municipality. The forum brought together around 400 participants, including senior representatives from the central governments and parliaments, leaders of friendship organizations and subnational governments, and delegates from the business, education, and media sectors across 22 SCO countries. Also in attendance were representatives from the SCO Secretariat; diplomatic envoys and officials from SCO countries based in China; and delegates from relevant Chinese institutions, including the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Health Commission, and the State Council Information Office. Additionally, representatives from 17 Chinese provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, and related cities also participated in the forum.
(Attending guests visit "Under the Same Blue Sky" the SCO Countries Art Exhibition of Children Artists)
Prior to the opening ceremony, attending leaders and guests visited several exhibitions, including "Under the Same Blue Sky" the SCO Countries Art Exhibition of Children Artists, SCO Countries People-to-People Exchanges Achievements Exhibition, and Sci-tech Innovation and Advanced Manufacturing Achievements Exhibition. They then took photographs together as mementos. In addition to the opening and closing sessions, the forum featured three parallel sub-forums: the Forum on Friendship City Collaboration and Economic Partnerships & the Second Shenyang International Friendship Cities Economic and Trade Cooperation Conference, Forum on Youth-driven Technological Innovation and Advanced Manufacturing, and Light of Peace-Peace and Friendship Forum Commemorating the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. Participants also took part in a series of field visits and inspection tours arranged as part of the forum's agenda.
(Signing ceremony for international friendship city agreements among SCO countries)
The forum produced a number of significant outcomes. Two key outcome documents were released: the Consensus on actions for sustainable development of people-to-people exchanges among SCO countries, and the 2025 SCO Forum on People-to-People Friendship and the Forum on Friendship Cities Shenyang Initiative. A signing ceremony was held to formalize cooperation agreements among friendship organizations, international friendship cities, and in the areas of economic and trade cooperation. More than 30 cooperation documents were signed during the forum.
