SCODA seeks investors to develop

A demonstration area in Qingdao, Shandong province, is encouraging investors to participate in its development as it looks to further integrate into the Belt and Road Initiative to set up a platform that will facilitate major international exchanges and cooperation efforts.

To this end, the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area will further promote comprehensive reform in the months to come, said Chen Wansheng, deputy secretary-general of the Qingdao government at a news conference last month.

"SCODA welcomes investors from around the world to join hands in its construction, which is providing myriad opportunities," he said, adding that Qingdao would spare no effort in hastening the development of the demonstration area.

SCODA's construction is off to a good start, as it has become an important window for showcasing the achievements of China's opening-up, as well as the rapid development of Qingdao as an international metropolis, Chen said.

He said relying on the advantages of transportation modes of sea, land, air and rail, SCODA has built a "gateway" for SCO countries to the Asian Pacific rim over the years. It has opened up international logistics channels connecting Japan, South Korea, Eurasia, Mongolia, Russia and Southeast Asia.

SCODA has opened 32 regular China-Europe freight train routes, linking it to 54 cities in 23 countries and regions involved in the SCO and BRI.

It has also opened more than 10 cargo train routes to Europe.

With accumulated operation of more than 3,200 China-Europe freight trains in the previous six years, Qingdao has become one of the top three cities in China to operate China-Europe freight trains, and one of the top three running freight trains to central Asian nations, Chen said.

Meanwhile, Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport has opened 261 flights, connecting the coastal city with 146 domestic and international destinations, and Qingdao Port has established 42 sea freight transport routes to SCO countries.

The city's sea-rail intermodal container volume has consistently ranked first among coastal ports in China, Chen said.

SCODA also has opened China-Russia highway transportation channels, he said.

As of the end of May, SCODA has attracted more than 130 projects with a total investment of more than 270 billion yuan ($37.5 billion).

SCODA has accumulated a total import and export volume of 21.34 billion yuan with SCO countries in the previous six years, with an average annual growth rate of 77 percent.

Zhang Ming, secretary-general of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, said SCODA has effectively promoted economic and trade cooperation among SCO nations.

Meanwhile, the China-SCO Institute of Economy and Trade has organized more than 200 training courses, with more than 15,000 people having received special training.

Since the Shanghai Cooperation Economic and Trade Exchange Center was launched last year, the institute has further integrated high-quality educational resources into foreign trade and economic cooperation, and has collected talent to create a comprehensive and international exchange platform for economic and trade training and cultural exchanges for SCO countries.