Zhou Yunjie, a deputy to National People's Congress, as well as chairman and CEO of Haier Group [Photo/Qingdao Daily]

Zhou Yunjie, a deputy to the National People's Congress, as well as chairman and CEO of Haier Group, proposed at the ongoing two sessions to further boost the high-quality development of the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area, also known as SCODA, making it an important fulcrum of the domestic economic circulation and a linkage between domestic and international markets.

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the construction of SCODA and is the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative. SCODA shoulders the important task of "creating a new platform for China's further opening-up".

New opportunities and goals

Located at the eastern end of the new Eurasian Continental Bridge under the BRI, SCODA is a key hub for the construction of international trade channels.

Zhou said that as the only demonstration zone in China to carry out local economic and trade cooperation with SCO countries, as well as countries and regions involved in the BRI, SCODA is building four centers of "regional logistics", "modern trade", "two-way investment cooperation", and "business, tourism, and cultural development". It is also building the China-SCO Institute of Economy and Trade.

The China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area is located in Jiaozhou, Qingdao, Shandong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Since 2018, SCODA has launched nearly 3,000 China-Europe freight trains, connecting 53 cities, 23 countries and regions, as well as 2,000 trade entities across the globe. In 2022, its foreign trade reached 36 billion yuan ($5.17 billion), a year-on-year increase of 38.3 percent.

Zhou said it is necessary to expand cooperation with SCO countries in such fields as finance, investment, industry, transportation, energy, and agriculture, as well as to create a platform for SCO countries to enter the Asia-Pacific market.

New platform

To build a global cooperation platform under the BRI and a new highland for high-level opening-up, SCODA should provide strong support for its industrial development and the smooth flow of trade.

Zhou said in his proposal that SCODA needs to advance digital economy and accelerate the infrastructure construction of China's industrial internet in terms of platforms, networks, and security with international standards.

Other tasks include strengthening the function of the logistics hub, focusing on bulk commodity trade, building a national energy trading center, facilitating investment and trade, as well as cultivating more professionals, Zhou suggested.