At 9 a.m. on the 26th, the SCO International Investment and Trade Expo 2021 and Qingdao Forum for Regional Economic and Trade Cooperation was solemnly opened in the Jiaozhou Fangyuan Sports Center of Qingdao, Shandong Province. Many guests from both home and abroad, including 76 envoys from 30 countries, gathered in Jiaozhou to renew friendship, discuss cooperation and pursue common development.

Vladimir Norov, Secretary-General of the SCO Secretariat, Zhang Shaogang, Vice Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, China Chamber of International Commerce and Chairman of the SCO China Business Council, and Joshil Saidzoda, Ambassador of the Embassy of Tajikistan to China delivered opening remarks respectively.

After that, Li Kuiwen, the Spokesman and Director General of Statistics and Analysis of the General Administration of Customs, released the China-SCO Trade Index. The index showed that, with the growing trade between China and SCO member countries, China’s imports and exports with SCO member countries have increased from $17.14 billion in 2001 to $244.85 billion in 2020, which marks an average annual growth rate of 15 percent.

At the opening ceremony, the Liaison Office of SCO China Chamber of International Commerce  and the Liaison Office of the Joint Meeting and Mechanism of Former Business Diplomats of the Ministry of Commerce were unveiled. Representatives of 4 friendly cities and 19 friendly parks from 17 countries signed a memorandum of understanding on friendly cooperation with Qingdao and SCO Demonstration Areas both online and offline, and 20 projects with a total investment of 66.8 billion yuan, covering trade logistics, new energy, high-end manufacturing, cultural tourism, biomedical services and so on.

Subsequently, the keynote speeches were delivered and presided over by Zhao Ai, Chairman of the Expert Advisory Committee for Development of SCO Demonstration Zones, Executive Vice President and Secretary General of China Research Society for Economic System Reform. Liu Jianjun, Member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Qingdao Municipal Committee, Secretary of the CPC Jiaozhou Municipal Committee, Secretary of the CPC SCO Demonstration Zone and Director of the Management Committee of the SCO Demonstration Zone introduced the development of the China-SCO Demonstration Zone of Regional Economic and Trade Cooperation. Koishebayev, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to China, Chen Dehai, Secretary-General of China-ASEAN Center, Moin Haq, Ambassador of the Embassy of Pakistan to China, Yang Xiumin, Second Inspector of the Department of Eurasia of the Ministry of Commerce, and Guo Guangchang, Chairman of Fosun International made speeches on “strengthening multilateral economic and trade cooperation and promoting high-level opening-up under new circumstances”.

According to the meeting, the world today is faced with intertwined challenges presented by the profound changes unseen in a century and the COVID-19, and instabilities and uncertainties are on the rise. However, the trend towards multi-polarity remains the same. Economic globalization has shown new resilience, and the call for multilateralism, communication and coordination has grown stronger. We live in an era full of challenges and opportunities. As long as we are committed to mutual respect and mutual trust, equal consultation, openness, innovation, and cooperation, we will be able to usher in greater prosperity and development of China-SCO regional economic and trade cooperation.

Xiang Zhiqiang, Deputy Director of the Management Committee of the SCO Demonstration Zone, read out the Qingdao Initiative on strengthening regional economic and trade cooperation. According to the initiative, since the establishment of the SCO, the close communication and in-depth cooperation among SCO member countries have led to substantial progress in counter-terrorism, security, economic development and people-to-people exchanges. The initiative calls on SCO, as the most populous regional cooperation organization in the world, to hold high the banner of the “Shanghai Spirit”, deepen sub-national economic and trade cooperation, open international logistics channels, promote investment and trade facilitation, and contribute to the development of sub-national cooperation of the SCO. The Initiative stresses that the year 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the SCO and it will usher in a new era of bilateral and multilateral cooperation and development. SCO member countries will adhere to the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits and work in partnership to achieve greater development in the region.

After the meeting, the participating guests visited the exhibition areas of image pavilions of various countries.

According to Xiang Zhiqiang, the successful holding of the Expo will promote friendship, attract more partners and increase the popularity of the SCO Demonstration Zone. The Expo has built a broad platform for foreign exchanges and cooperation. In the future, the SCO Demonstration Zone will expand channels for international exchanges and cooperation, focus on the construction of “four major centers”, and take more solid steps in building a new platform for BRI cooperation and expanding economic and trade cooperation.

The Expo will last for three days, mainly including the opening ceremony, Qingdao Forum, Promotions by SCO diplomatic envoys to China and the Investment and Trade Fair and other activities. From April 27 to 28, the exhibition hall will be open to the public free of charge. Visitors can make appointments through the official website and We-Chat platform, or watch the exhibition online through the live broadcast platform on the official website.