SCO media representatives gather in Lianyungang to tap BRI opportunities

(ECNS) -- Media Representatives from the countries of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) started their four-day visit to the city of Lianyungang in east China's Jiangsu Province on Wednesday at the city's international logistics park.

Lianyungang is identified by the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) strategic plan of China as the starting city of the new Eurasian Continental Bridge. A number of achievements have been made by the city in the cooperation of logistics, economy and trade, and cultural exchanges with countries along the BRI since 2015.

The SCO (Lianyungang) Logistics Park, an important carrier for the construction of the BRI in Lianyungang, was built in April 2015. Covering an area of 69.79 square kilometers, it is home to more than 1,600 enterprises.

According to Yang Yan, one of the persons in charge of the SCO (Lianyungang) International Logistics Park, relying on its geographical advantages, the logistics park has built a multimodal logistics system, integrating roads, railways, rivers, and the sea, and become a comprehensive industrial park, housing enterprises in modern logistics, new energy, new materials, and other industries.

It has helped smooth trade exchanges among SCO members by setting up overseas warehouses and opening multi-modal international freight trains, said Yang.

"The mode of international freight train plus overseas warehouses has provided enterprises in Lianyungang with logistics supply chain services such as international transportation and the collection and distribution of commodities, which has facilitated these enterprises going global.”

In addition, the park also played a role in transporting COVID-19 prevention and control materials to SCO members, including Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan by China-Europe freight trains in March 2020 when the global epidemic situation was still grave, she added.

“Next, the SCO (Lianyungang) International Logistics Park will expand the transportation layout of domestic freight trains and cooperate with other domestic ports to launch more international transportation routes, so as to provide logistics services for SCO countries,” said Zhu Jiepei, deputy general manager of the Cosharbor Logistics Co., Ltd. (Lianyungang)

The logistics park, which is expected to be the international logistics cooperation base for countries and regions along the BRI, has won praise from SCO media representatives.

Elena Olufemi, from Russia, said it is a reflection of the scale of the BRI, adding that the initiative will benefit countries along it.

“I hope this logistics park will bring more opportunities and possibilities to the cooperation between China and Russia,” she said.

Enkhbold Davaa from Mongolia has been to China many times and says that he is amazed at the development of the country.

After visiting the logistics park, he expressed his expectations for the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor (CMREC), an important part under the main framework of the BRI. He believes that the CMREC will bring benefits to Mongolia.

"My visit to Lianyungang gave me a glimpse of China's development plan which is well-organized and implemented,” said Janitha Mendis from Sri Lanka.