Chinese president Xi Jinping told leaders at a Central Asia summit in the Kazakh capital Astana on Thursday to ‘resist external interference’, state media reported.

‘We should join hands to resist external interference, firmly support each other, take care of each other’s concerns… and firmly control the future and destiny of our countries and regional peace and development in our own hands,’ Xi told a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

The SCO, which encompasses a vast stretch of the globe from Moscow to Beijing, includes around half the world’s population and on is scheduled to welcome its 10th member, Belarus, today.

Its other permanent members are this year’s host Kazakhstan, India, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and, as of last year, Iran.

‘The world stands again at a crossroads,’ CCTV reported Xi as saying.

‘It is extremely important that the SCO stands on the side of fairness and justice.’

According to CCTV, Xi told leaders: ‘We must safeguard the right to development, adhere to inclusiveness, jointly promote technological innovation, maintain the stability and smoothness of industrial and supply chains, stimulate the endogenous power of the regional economy, and promote the realisation of common development goals’.