Chongqing Explores Co-building of a SCO TEMP Comprehensive Hub Demonstration Zone

On the afternoon of September 6, a forum on the Comprehensive Hub Demonstration Zone for the Trade and Economic Multifunctional Platform for SCO Countries (SCO TEMP) was held at the Liangjiang New Area Administrative Committee. Hu Kaiqiang, Director General of SCO TEMP, Deputy Director of the Committee for Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and Overseas Chinese and Foreign Affairs of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and Executive Director of SCO TEMP's Working Team; Qin Shubin, Member of the Chongqing Liangjiang New Area Party Work Committee and Deputy Director of the Liangjiang New Area Administrative Committee attended the forum.

At the forum, Wen Jixu, Secretary-General of SCO TEMP, first provided a detailed introduction to the forum's discussion topics and relevant background. He combined specific cases of SCO TEMP's Industry Working Committee and its member enterprises "going global", the common issues they face, and the comprehensive recommendations from experts of the SCO TEMP Think Tank. He stated that the global economy is currently at a critical stage of restructuring industrial and supply chains. Exploring the establishment of a Comprehensive Hub Demonstration Zone for SCO TEMP in Liangjiang New Area is not only an innovative move to help the Area actively fulfill Chongqing's "two major orientations" for high-quality development in the new era but also an urgent need to leverage the Area's leading industrial advantages to assist Chinese enterprises in seizing new opportunities for "going global" and promote the establishment of a new internationalized industrial chain landscape with the Area as a hub.

"SCO TEMP has developed into an important bridge for promoting economic and trade cooperation and people-to-people exchanges between China and other Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries. It serves as a significant platform for exploring the Chinese model of innovative operations for international NGOs in the new era, supporting Chongqing in building an inland open comprehensive hub with high-quality openness to the western and the southern regions, " said Hu Kaiqiang, adding that to further unleash SCO TEMP's capability for opening up, leverage its advantages, and combine Liangjiang New Area's advantages in policies, location, industries, innovation, and support services, both sides could plan to establish a Comprehensive Hub Industrial Park for SCO TEMP while exploring the joint development of a Comprehensive Hub Demonstration Zone for the SCO TEMP.

Hu Kaiqiang emphasized that SCO TEMP would fully leverage its agglomeration effect to encourage high-quality market entities to register and settle in the industrial park. It aims to enhance, supplement, and build chains for Liangjiang New Area's pillar and key emerging industries and help the Area establish an offshore trade, industry, investment, and innovation base, as well as a headquarters base for overseas assets. The goal is to create an industry international collaborative innovation ecosystem centered around Liangjiang New Area, connecting with the SCO, influencing the surrounding areas, and linking with the globe. Furthermore, it will actively promote a global reconfiguration of productivity and explore a new model of regional economic integration and development for the SCO, guided by Chinese-style modernization.

Qin Shubin stated that as the "vanguard" of Chongqing's opening up, Liangjiang New Area has been vigorously building a sound platform for openness, expanding the depth and breadth of its openness. With the construction of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor as a driving force, it deepens cooperation between China and Singapore, as well as between Chongqing and Hong Kong. It hastens the attraction of a batch of projects in international trade, headquarters economy, modern services, and digital economy. Additionally, it actively promotes the establishment of an international financial center, international consumption center, international business center, and international exchange center.

He mentioned that exploring the joint establishment of a Comprehensive Hub Demonstration Zone for SCO TEMP aligns highly with the development positioning of Liangjiang New Area and carries significant importance. Liangjiang New Area will further leverage the mechanism of SCO TEMP's Working Team to enhance coordination and collaboration with SCO TEMP. It will capitalize on the advantages of SCO TEMP Think Tank, enhance its stance, and focus on innovation as well as economy and trade. It plans to conduct in-depth special research on various topics, including the hub demonstration zone's strategic positioning, development model, industrial planning, and factor integration. This will lead to the formation of systematic theoretical research outcomes and feasible plans. It will work together with SCO TEMP to advance the creation of the hub industrial park and the construction of the hub demonstration zone. This will help Liangjiang New Area further implement significant instructions and spirits including "three roles" and achieve recognizable and iconic outcomes.

At the forum, Deng Rui, Chairman of SCO TEMP's Education Work Alliance, and Zhou Zeyang, Director of SCO TEMP's Higher Education Think Tank Union, along with several senior advisors, experts, and scholars from the SCO TEMP Think Tank, including Wang Li, Xiao Yacheng, Lyu Hong, and Yu Yuanling, and relevant department heads from the Liangjiang New Area, each shared their opinions and suggestions on specific issues such as the positioning of the industrial park and demonstration zone, construction goals, overall planning, operational models, and implementation pathways.

The forum was also attended by relevant department heads of units such as SCO TEMP's Secretariat, Education Work Alliance, Higher Education Think Tank Union, and (Chongqing) Research Institute for Digital Industry Economy Development.

SCO TMEP is a non-profit, multi-field, and multifunctional international exchange and cooperation platform centered around economic and trade work. It was jointly established by the SCO Business Council, the Liangjiang New Area Administrative Committee, and the Chongqing Council for Brand Development, with support from the SCO Secretariat, the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, and the Chongqing Municipal People's Government. Since 2022, SCO TMEP has established 25 industry working committees, covering more than 10 industrial fields such as intelligent manufacturing, new energy, new materials, and information technology. It has brought together over 1,300 high-quality market entities from both domestic and international upstream and downstream industry chains, facilitating nearly RMB 30 billion in outbound investment, including over RMB 17.6 billion in investment attraction for Chongqing.