Qingdao revs up efforts to boost international trade

The eastern coastal city of Qingdao has been ramping up efforts to boost economic collaboration with Shanghai Cooperation Organization members and build a better platform for international cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative through the construction of the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Demonstration Zone for Local Economic and Trade Cooperation.

Located in the Jiaozhou Economic and Technological Development Zone in Qingdao, the demonstration area is close to the transport center of Qingdao, where cargo ships are unloaded and the cargo loaded onto trains bound for Central Asia and other BRI countries and regions.

Official statistics showed that in 2019, 307 new trading enterprises were registered in the demonstration zone, including nine which received investment from SCO state members, as well as five trade platforms such as the Pakistan (China) economic cooperation center.

There were 1,712 enterprises in Jiaozhou importing and exporting to countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative in 2019, with a trade volume totaling $3.55 billion, up 31.4 percent year-on-year.

The construction of the demonstration zone has become the priority of Jiaozhou's development plan and is designed to create a better platform for international cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative as well as develop collaborations in logistics, trade, investment, tourism and culture with SCO member states.

Hao Guoxin, director of the demonstration zone development office, said that they will build a demonstration area for exchange and cooperation with cities in SCO countries, promoting two-way investment and trade innovation with SCO countries and facilitating local economic and trade cooperation under the BRI.

So far, the demonstration zone has hosted more than 10 cultural exchange events, set up business and trade representative offices in six cities, including Moscow, and established friendly cooperation ties with seven organizations.