President Hu Jintao's participation at the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in the Uzbekistan capital of Tashkent testifies to China's long-term commitment toward a sustained, healthy and stable development of the organization.

The summit, scheduled to begin Wednesday, will pave the way for intensified cooperation among member states in politics, security, economy and culture, and seek to expand the bloc's relations with other countries and groups.

Regional security and closer effort to combat the "three evil forces", the key precepts of the organization ever since its inception in 2001, will top its agenda.

The regional organization is certainly gaining in both strength and maturity, and the documents will lay the legal groundwork for the bloc's expansion in the foreseeable future.

Several observer members of the grouping - Mongolia, Pakistan, Iran and India - have sought full membership. While new members may not be admitted during the current summit, the bloc's expansion process will certainly be accelerated.

In recent years, the SCO, which groups China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, has played an indispensable role in safeguarding regional peace and stability. It has become an important regional forum - with international influence- for building political trust and cementing cooperation in Eurasia.

The world is undergoing profound changes. It is facing lots of uncertainties and challenges, especially with regard to climate change, food security and energy security. The "three evil forces" continues to plague the people of central Asia.

Under such circumstances, the members of the SCO have realized that only by sticking together can they effectively respond to these complexities and usher in more benefits to their peoples.

Its member nations' mutual pursuit of peace, security and development will only lead to greater cohesiveness and unity in the years to come.

(China Daily 06/08/2010 page8)