2004 CHINA CHRONOLOGY


January
  15 The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) opens its permanent secretariat in Beijing. The establishment of the secretariat was decided at the Moscow Summit in May 2003 by the heads of state of the SCO members. Designated by the SCO summit meeting and held in turn by member states in Russian alphabetic order, every secretary general can serve only one term of three years. Zhang Deguang, former Chinese Vice Foreign Minister, was appointed the first secretary general of the SCO Secretariat.