"In this way, we can increase transport capacity by more than three times, cut transportation time in half from rail alone and improve efficiency while reducing costs for enterprises," said Zang Yuanqi, an official serving in the area's administrative committee.

So far, the demonstration area has opened 17 international rail routes to 51 cities in 22 SCO member countries and countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative. This year, the area has opened two new two-way special trains — one from the demonstration area to Mannheim, Germany, and the other from the area to Hungary and Serbia.

The demonstration area has explored innovative trade models and improved trade facilitation. In the first half of this year, total import and export volume between Qingdao and SCO countries reached 30.75 billion yuan (nearly $4.42 billion), an increase of 14.3 percent year-on-year. The import and export volume between the area and SCO countries is expected to increase by 86 percent.