The development plan of the first demonstration zone in Qingdao for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) has been initially completed, which was announced on May 14.

The zone will help to smooth out cooperation between the SCO countries and build a new platform for the member states to trade on a global scale.

Qingdao's construction of the demonstration zone features cross-border development. According to the plan, Qingdao will guide companies to carry out two-way investment and trade cooperation. It will build overseas processing and assembly bases, logistics parks and cross-border e-commerce trade platforms in phases in SCO countries to promote economic and trade cooperation.

Qingdao Port, one of the top 10 busiest ports in the world, gives the city an inherent advantage in the construction of the demonstration area. The zone will help Qingdao become a focal point for European and Asian countries to connect to the hugely important Asia-Pacific markets, as well as an international sea-railway transportation transit trade hub for Japanese and South Korean commodities to reach Central Asian and European markets.

Qingdao will build an international multi-modal transport transit trade channel relying on its multimodal customs supervision center and give full play to the function of Qingdao Port as an international multimodal transport trade hub.

A domestic logistics trade pilot zone will also be developed which will help to interconnect China's northwest and southwest markets and develop international trade and logistics industries along the Silk Road Economic Belt, the new Eurasian Continental Bridge and the Trans-Asian Railway Network.