Jun. 17 – China is offering a US$10 billion credit line to member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in efforts to help their economies deal with the effects of the global financial crisis.
This was announced by President Hu Jintao in a speech made during the SCO summit held in the Ural city of Yekaterinburg, Russia.
China will also organize visits by trade and investment promotion delegations to other SCO member states to boost two-way trade and investment, Mr. Hu added.
Hu also said the global credit crunch was continuing to gather speed, with economic recessions still reported in some countries and urged that SCO nations “to enhance cooperation… to oppose the crisis and consolidate the organization.”
The SCO is an alliance comprised of China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The group focuses on regional security and economic matters in Central Asia and more importantly serves as a hedge against U.S. influence in the region.
