SCO defense ministers to meet in Qingdao this week

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization's defense ministers are set to gather in Qingdao, a coastal city in China's Shandong province, for a two-day meeting starting on Wednesday, China's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday evening.

Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun will chair the meeting and deliver a speech, according to a news release. The event will bring together defense chiefs from SCO member states, along with officials from the SCO Secretariat and the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure.

The meeting, the 22nd of its kind, is one of the key events hosted by China during its rotating presidency of the SCO this year. It aims to further strengthen military mutual trust and practical cooperation among member states, the ministry said.

It also seeks to promote the implementation of a joint initiative to build "a common home" for the SCO — featuring solidarity and mutual trust, peace and stability, prosperity and development, good-neighborliness and friendship, and fairness and justice, the release said.

The gathering is expected to contribute to maintaining peace and stability both globally and regionally, while supporting shared development efforts, the ministry said.

The most recent SCO defense ministers' meeting was held in April in Astana, Kazakhstan.