Increasing trade among member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization during the past two decades has made a great contribution to the global economy, and more beneficial measures are expected to be rolled out to further trade contacts, experts and officials said.

The total trade volume of SCO member states increased to $6.06 trillion in 2020 from $667.09 billion in 2001. Its proportion of total global trade increased to 17.5 percent in 2020 from just 5.4 percent in 2001, said a report on Feb. 16.

The report was jointly compiled by Qingdao Customs and Qingdao-based Ocean University of China, based on data and records seen in global trade among SCO-related countries.

Li Jian, an editor of the report and also dean of the international trade department at the College of Economics of OUC, said that member states of the SCO have been enhancing economic and cultural cooperation since the founding of the organization.

"With such a platform, some new modes of economic cooperation emerged, which have boosted the economic connections among member states, playing a positive role in world trade," Li said.

He said that under favorable factors such as the Belt and Road Initiative, SCO member states will take more substantial and innovative steps to facilitate economic and trade connections globally.

The report said that Customs of SCO member states have carried out practical cooperation in fields such as risk management, law enforcement and pandemic prevention and made great efforts on Customs clearance and facilitation to boost trade and economic development.

Jiaozhou, a county-level city in Qingdao, is home to the core area of the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area, or SCODA, which was launched in 2018 to serve SCO-related countries and those economies involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Currently, the area has attracted more than 1,700 trade companies and introduced 10 trade platforms.

"We have set up an intelligent management system, which connects SCODA with airports, seaports and railway stations and provides one-stop service, covering all procedures of trade process," said Zhang Qinghai, director of Jiaozhou Customs, adding it would help lower logistics costs for enterprises and improve their competitiveness.

"More efforts will be made to help boost e-commerce business, improve efficiency of Customs clearance and make it easier to do business," Zhang added.

Liu Xiao, a manager in charge of international trade at Qingdao Pinpinhao Grains and Oils Group Co., Ltd., said the company's trade with other SCO member states has increased more than tenfold from 2018 to 2021, thanks to opportunities brought by SCODA.

Liu said there will be huge potential in SCO markets and her company will do more business related to grains and oils in the future.

Source: China Daily