Qingdao recently issued the Opinions on Promoting the Construction of the SCO Demonstration Zone with Regional Coordination.According to the Opinions Qingdao-wide resources will be mobilized to deepen local economic and trade cooperation with the SCO member states and build the SCO Demonstration Zone with high standards.

As indicated in the Opinions, efforts will be ramped up to give play to Qingdao’s geographical advantages and its roles as a comprehensive transportation hub and a port city for the SCO member states to tap into the Asia-Pacific market and to make the SCO Demonstration Zone successful and reputable. Both the imports and exports between Qingdao and the SCO member states and the bilateral investment amount see an average annual growth of over 10% the number of China-Europe freight trains has hit 800 and people-to-people exchanges have become increasingly close.

The SCO Demonstration Zone has been built in the main into a regional logistics center, a modern trade center, a bilateral investment and cooperation center and a business culture exchange and development center.

For this purpose, Qingdao will launch comprehensively “six campaigns”. Firstly, the core guiding campaign aims to build the SCO Demonstration Zone into a collective exhibition of in-depth cooperation achievements between Qingdao and the SCO Demonstration Zone. Secondly, the regional coordination campaign will mobilize all resources to construct the SCO Demonstration Zone. Thirdly, the international cooperation campaign will give full play to such events as the Meetings of the Council of Heads of State and Heads of Government(Premiers) of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and strive to host key events under the framework of the SCO in Qingdao. Fourthly, the institutional innovation campaign will bolster economic and trade research of different countries focus on logistics trade and investment facilitation and deepen joint innovation among different bureaus including customs and tax departments, and take more institutional innovation measures. Fifthly, the platform empowerment campaign will give play to the strengths of the Qingdao Area of China (Shandong) Pilot Free Trade Zone comprehensive bonded zones and the Pilot RCEP Qingdao Economic and Trade Cooperation Innovation Base to facilitate economic and trade cooperation between Qingdao-based enterprises and the SCO member states. Sixthly, the project support campaign will roll out the list of key cooperation projects relating to the SCO member states sort out the leading projects that relate closely to the SCO, and keep improving the mode according to which projects shall be planned signed, constructed and put into operation simultaneously.

Source：International Daily