FROM SHANGHAI TO QINGDAO

According to Wang, the Qingdao Declaration to be issued at the summit will call on all parties to continue the Shanghai Spirit.

In his speeches at previous SCO summits, President Xi had repeatedly upheld the Shanghai Spirit, acknowledging its significance in forging a community with a shared future in the region, maintaining security and stability and promoting exchanges.

"The 17-year-old Shanghai Spirit is in line with Xi's latest diplomatic vision," said Li Ziguo with the China Institute of International Studies, who also highlighted it as a platform for "building a community with a shared future for humanity."

Under the guidance of the Shanghai Spirit, the region prospered with peace and stability, with countries in the region having settled complicated border issues, contained threats from terrorism, extremism and separatism, and launched initiatives of cross-border trade and infrastructure connectivity, often spearheaded by China.

The SCO has grown to be an organization covering over 60 percent of the Eurasian landmass, nearly half the world's population and over 20 percent of global GDP.

"The organization has demonstrated strong cohesion and increasing influence," said Konstantin Kokarev, head of the Centre for Asia and Pacific Region, Russian Institute for Strategic Studies, in an interview with Xinhua.