BACKGROUND

On June 10, 2018, President Xi Jinping announced at the at the 18th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization that “the Chinese government supports the establishment of the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area in Qingdao”. And the General Plan for the Construction of China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area envisions “SCO International Investment and Trade Expo & SCO Qingdao Forum on Local Economic and Trade Cooperation as an influential international expo”. The first expo was successfully held between May 24 and 26, 2019.

2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of SCO.  This year’s SCO Expo is of great significance for promoting local economic and trade cooperation, business travel and people-to-people exchanges among the SCO countries. The Expo is expected to celebrate the 20th birthday of SCO by promoting the building of a SCO community with a shared future and serving the national diplomacy.

 The Moscow Declaration announced at the Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization held on November 10th, 2020 stressed that “SCO member states will make continued efforts to strengthen local cooperation, prioritize the implementation of the Outline for Local Cooperation and Development of SCO Member States, and welcome the proposal of China to build the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area in Qingdao”. On November 30th, 2020, Premier Li Keqiang pointed out at the 19th Meeting of the Council of Heads of Government of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization that efforts will be stepped up to build the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area and deepen practical cooperation among SCO countries. On October 28th, Chinese Ministry of Commerce emphasized at the 19th Meeting of Ministers of the Member States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Responsible for Foreign Economic and Foreign Trade Activities proposed that SCO countries should deepen regional economic cooperation, make SCO an example of win-win cooperation, and SCO International Investment and Trade Expo should be fully leveraged for trade liberalization and facilitation, fostering a market-based and law-based business environment, expanding connectivity at the local level, strengthening cooperation in digital economy and trade in services, and upholding the multilateral trade system. 

 

FORUM TOPIC

Towards a More Open and Prosperous SCO

FORUM CONTENT

Topic 1: The role of cities and parks/zones and the opportunities they face in SCO local economic and trade cooperation

 Key words: cooperation between parks and zones, industrial interaction, international logistics cooperation

Topic 2: Innovation in the business models of SCO local economic and trade cooperation in the post-pandemic era

Key words: model innovation, digital economy, e-commerce, financial innovation

Topic 3: Opportunities and Challenges: Integration of RCEP and SCO

Key words: regional economy, free trade zone, trade facilitation, connectivity