A Successful Summit Breaths Life into the City

On June 10th last year, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Qingdao came to a close. Under the continued influence of the "summit effect," Qingdao has been expanding its openness, intensifying economic and trade exchanges, and cultural interactions with SCO member states. The city's development has been infused with the impetus of the SCO, as it welcomes visitors from all corners of the world with a new face.

Expanding Openness: Creating an Exemplary Platform for Economic Cooperation

From May 24th to 26th this year, the first Qingdao Forum on Local Economic and Trade Cooperation of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the SCO International Investment and Trade Expo were held in Jiaozhou, Qingdao. A total of 423 institutions from 18 countries participated, with a total transaction volume exceeding 150 million yuan.

During the SCO Summit in Qingdao last June, China proposed the establishment of a China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area in Qingdao. To consolidate and accelerate the achievements of the SCO Summit, Qingdao will hold the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Forum on Local Economic and Trade Cooperation annually, alongside the SCO International Investment and Trade Expo, to further expand regional economic cooperation among SCO member states.

With key transportation hubs like Qingdao Port, the 4F-grade Qingdao Jiaodong International Airport, and the Qingdao Multimodal Transportation Center, the area designated for the demonstration zone boasts a highly developed transportation network comprising sea, land, air, and rail links. Operating on the principles of "leading logistics, expanding trade, capacity cooperation, cross-border development, and dual-park interaction," the plan aims to establish a regional logistics center, a modern trade center, a two-way investment cooperation center, and an international exchange center.

Bai Weizhun, the Mayor of Jiaozhou, stated that from June 2018 to the end of May this year, the container handling volume at the Qingdao Multimodal Transportation Center reached 595,000 TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 25%. The center has opened 16 international and domestic routes, including those to Europe, Asia, and Mongolia. Since the beginning of this year, the volume of Eurasian freight trains has increased by 124% compared to the same period last year.

The long-term goal of the demonstration zone is to become a pioneer and exemplar in regional economic cooperation with SCO member states. Currently, the demonstration zone has signed contracts for 40 key cooperation projects, with industries such as high-end equipment manufacturing, artificial intelligence, and biopharmaceuticals gaining traction. In the first three months of this year, Qingdao's total import and export volume with SCO member states reached 1.48 billion US dollars, a year-on-year increase of 12.9%.

Facilitating Civilized Exchanges to Enhance Cultural Integration

Since the summit, Qingdao has witnessed frequent cultural exchanges and achieved fruitful outcomes with SCO member states.

On June 8th, an event titled "Russian Cultural and Artistic Activities" was held at the Qingdao Library. Art enthusiasts from China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and other countries participated in the Russian painting exhibition, read poems by Pushkin, sang Russian songs, and engaged in bilingual conversations about Russia and Qingdao, celebrating the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between China and Russia.

The Ling Shan Bay Film and Television Cultural Industry Zone in Qingdao, which gained fame due to the movies "The Wandering Earth" and "Crazy Alien," hosted the first SCO Film Festival after the summit's conclusion. A total of 23 films from 12 countries were screened, offering a visual feast. The city of Qingdao has expressed its intention to hold regular film festivals and collaborate with professional institutions in Russia, India, and other countries for academic exchanges in the film industry.

An increasing number of "SCO faces" are participating in community and school activities in Qingdao, promoting grassroots and people-to-people cultural exchanges.

In Jiaozhou, the local government continues to invite SCO member states' students to engage in various colorful exchange activities, including special lectures, cultural exchanges, and visits. Together with outstanding young representatives from Jiaozhou, they learn about traditional Chinese culture, including martial arts, Jiaozhou Yangko (a local folk dance), Chinese painting, and calligraphy.

In October of last year, the "Action Plan for Promoting Deep Regional Cooperation and Exchange with SCO Member States in Qingdao" was launched. It proposed leveraging Qingdao's vocational education resources to explore collaborations with SCO universities or relevant institutions in areas of applied technology. Qingdao has welcomed a total of 159 students from SCO member countries at China University of Petroleum (East China).

Embracing the "Peak" and Sustaining the Summit Effect

Along the shores of Fushan Bay, high-rise buildings turn into film screens under the night sky, while the backstreets and alleys of the city are adorned with increasingly sophisticated urban landscapes. The people of Qingdao exude vitality and enthusiasm, as the international event brings new opportunities for the city's development.

The main venue of the summit, the Qingdao International Conference Center, has gradually evolved into a new hub for high-end meetings and exhibitions in Qingdao. The Qingdao Tourism Group has expressed its vision of transforming the conference center into a trendy cultural gathering place, a fashionable tourism destination, a sports trendsetter, and a high-end conference hub.

Located beside Jiaozhou Bay, Qingdao is continuously leveraging the effect of the summit to turn SCO opportunities into development advantages.

By adopting new strategies, the city is opening up new pathways, demonstrating new responsibilities, and achieving new accomplishments. Qingdao is focusing on the key, difficult, painful, and blocked areas of urban development, launching initiatives in areas such as ocean, "dual-zone, dual-park" development, transportation infrastructure construction, and military-civilian integration. It is marching toward the goal of becoming an "open, modern, dynamic, and trendy" city.

During the Qingdao International Forum on Academicians at the end of May, 53 domestic and international academicians signed agreements to settle in the Qingdao International Academician Harbor. Academician Zhong Zhihua, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, believes that the International Academician Harbor has gathered over a hundred academicians in a short period, sowing the seeds for original, forward-looking, leading, and transformative innovations.

With the impetus from the summit effect, the new vigor of Qingdao is gushing forth, and new driving forces are emerging everywhere. The city is setting its sails, riding the "peak," and embarking on a distant journey of progress.