Levering SCO Community of a Shared Future with New Fulcrum
In the year of the 20th anniversary of the founding of SCO, from April 26th to 28th, 2021 SCO International Investment and Trade Expo & SCO Qingdao Forum on Local Economic and Trade Cooperation was grandly opened, attracting 76 diplomats in China from 30 countries to participate. During the event, "Qingdao Initiative" on enhancing local economic and trade cooperation was published for the first time, the China-SCO members trade index was also released for the first time. The trade volume of China to SCO member countries grew from US$17.14 billion in 2001 to US$244.85 billion in 2020, with an average annual growth rate of 15%. This marks a bellwether for foreign trade, which represents the importance of "SCO Elements" in building a dual circulation paradigm!
Archimedes said, give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world! How could 18 SCO countries with utterly different customs, natural endowments and languages seek common ground while putting aside their differences, unite with each other as tight as pomegranate seeds, and form a community of a shared future? The answer of the era provided by the SCODA was: creating a new fulcrum of righteousness + interests!
Economic foundation determines the superstructure. There are millions of paths for SCO cooperation, but the fundamental principle is development! It's about economy and trade!! Development is the top priority and the urgent calling for SCO countries as developing countries! Based on this understanding, on June 10th, 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping announced at SCO Qingdao Summit: the Chinese government supports Qingdao in building China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area! The SCODA, entrusted with major national tasks, was building four centers, namely, international logistics center, modern trade center, bilateral investment center, commerce, tourism and cultural exchange center. It takes the SCO Express international freight train as the trailblazing pioneer, running 20 regular lines, thus building international channels connecting Russia and Mongolia in the north, ASEAN in the south, Japan and South Korea in the east and Europe in the west. It would break the barriers hindering the flow of production factors, and link the abundant resources and specialty products of SCO countries like a candied gourd, thus becoming the golden link crucial for SCO countries! We could say, the small stone of economic and trade cooperation created strong waves in the mighty water of SCO! This expo was themed "Sharing SCO Opportunities and Seeking Open Development". Development is the lifeline of SCO countries. Focusing on development could maximize the outcome with the minimal efforts!
Even mountains and seas cannot separate people with the same aspirations. A bond of righteousness will last forever and go a long way! The SCODA integrates the brand of "hospitable Shandong" with the emotional appeal into international business affairs, and advocates the philosophy of "promoting cooperation with harmony, bridging cooperation with fairness, nourishing cooperation with integrity, and pursuing cooperation with sincerity". It encourages people to work with enthusiasm, creates the service brand of "sincere SCO service to meet your satisfaction", and builds a permanent platform of an everlasting SCO Expo! On this basis, we value building relations on top of the infrastructure. The Qingdao China-SCO Countries Cooperation Hub, with a planned construction area of 30,000 m2, which integrates the three functions of international business and trade exhibition, international commercial service, international business and tourism support in one, has become a permanent service base station for activities and exchanges. It has already attracted 15 business associations from India, Russia, Pakistan, Moldova and other countries. Standing in the cooperation hub, the friends from SCO countries would feel like seeing the familiar mountains and waters from their hometowns in a foreign country, which could remind them of their motherland, thus making the SCODA the second hometown!