Daily Times

Pakistan’s pavilion at the Qingdao SCODA Pearl International Expo Center is a great platform to enhance Pakistan’s exports to China and other countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). “This kind of online platform is very important to enhance our exports but it has to be more demand-driven,” Commercial Councilor, Pakistan Embassy Beijing, Ghulam Qadir told APP. The international expo center is located in the core area of the SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area (SCODA), with a total area of 168,800 square meters. In November 2022, the center was put into operation. Pakistan has exhibited products including clothes, rice, and various food items, and also displayed its culture and traditions at one of the exhibition halls. Ghulam Qadir said that there is a need to see what kinds of products are being imported by China and what are their preferences.

“We also need to know the demand by the other SCO countries, and based on their demand, we need to increase and diversify such products which are to be displayed here,” he added. He said the pavilion facility is actually supported by the government of China. And it was given to Pakistan for the very reason that the Chinese government also wants Pakistan to enhance its exports to China. He pointed out that there is a huge trade deficit with China which could be bridged to enhance Pakistan’s export to China. “This pavilion is a great opportunity to showcase our brands, diversified products, our talents. People can have a taste of Pakistani food and other products,” he added. In a recent media tour to Qingdao, Shandong province organized by the CICG Center for Asia and Pacific and the Information Office of the Qingdao Municipal People’s Government, the correspondents from Pakistan, China, and other countries were briefed that the SCODA was designed with the purpose of building China’s first and only business, tourism and cultural complex for SCO countries, and a space for experiencing new scenarios of cultural tourism.

To further facilitate economic and trade cooperation with the SCO countries and build a modern trade comprehensive service carrier, the SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area (SCODA) took into consideration the economic and trade application scenarios and cooperation needs of SCO countries, relied on the China International Trade Single Window, and creatively established the China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Comprehensive Service Platform.

The platform was officially launched online on November 25, 2022. With the support of the General Administration of Customs, it has become the first international zone of the China International Trade Single Window. The purpose of the platform is to build a home port for Chinese enterprises to enter other SCO countries, and vice versa. It provides services for trade entities, logistics entities, financial institutions, and regulatory agencies through three application carriers: an online web page, a handheld mobile terminal, and an offline service center. The Service Platform consists of three major systems: comprehensive information display, comprehensive function application, and comprehensive data release. With the eight modules of cross-border procurement, one-stop clearance, full-chain logistics, intelligent tax engine, featured finance, panoramic-service, new district window, digital SCO, and 73 sub-functions, the platform provides SCO countries with the full-cycle, full-factor, and full-chain one-stop solutions for economic and trade cooperation, with the integration of trade with customs clearance, logistics, and finance.