Chongqing–Xinjiang collaboration: The Chongqing Institute for Digital and Intelligent Industrial Economic Development, an SCO economic and trade platform, is empowering the westward opening-up.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization Time  

Recently, Yu Guoming, a member of the Party Committee of the Aksu Prefecture and Deputy Commissioner of the Administrative Office, led a delegation to visit the Chongqing Digital Intelligence Industry Economic Development Research Institute of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Multifunctional Economic and Trade Platform, where they conducted a focused study on deepening cross-border industrial cooperation between Chongqing and Xinjiang and jointly building a China–Central Asia digital trade corridor.

In accordance with the work plan of Hu Kaiqiang, Director-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Multifunctional Economic and Trade Platform, President of the Research Institute, and Deputy Director of the CPPCC Chongqing Municipal Committee’s Committee on Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Overseas Chinese Affairs, and Foreign Affairs, Han Xiaoyun, Director of the Institute’s Cross‑Border E‑Commerce Center, and Zhang Bo, Director of the International Industry–Education Cooperation and Exchange Center, warmly received and accompanied the inspection delegation.

Meanwhile, as the president of the Ili Prefecture E‑Commerce Association, Han Xiaoyun stated that Aksu, located at the heart of southern Xinjiang, boasts abundant agricultural products and energy resources, while Chongqing, serving as the operational hub of the New Western Land–Sea Corridor, possesses a robust industrial base in automobiles, electronics, and the digital economy. The two regions exhibit strong industrial complementarity, and by leveraging the SCO’s multifunctional economic and trade platform, they can further strengthen cooperation between Xinjiang and Chongqing, opening up broad prospects for collaboration.

He explained that one of the core missions of the Institute’s Cross‑Border E‑Commerce Center is to transform Xinjiang’s port‑based advantages into standardized service offerings, integrating Horgos’ logistics, customs clearance, and overseas‑warehouse resources into end‑to‑end “door‑to‑door” solutions. At the same time, leveraging the Institute’s research capabilities, it is facilitating alignment between Chongqing and Central Asian countries in areas such as data compliance, product certification, and trade standards, while leading cutting‑edge research projects like the “Digital Product Passport.” These efforts aim to overcome challenges in mutual recognition of export standards for Chongqing‑made goods, thereby helping Chongqing’s automotive and motorcycle parts, smart terminals, and other products gain smoother access to the Central Asian market.

Yu Guoming highly commended the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Multifunctional Economic and Trade Platform and the Chongqing Institute for Digital‑Intelligent Industrial Development for their expertise in cross‑border trade. He noted that Aksu is at a critical juncture in its industrial upgrading and urgently needs to leverage Chongqing’s strengths in the digital economy and its mature experience in cross‑border e‑commerce.

He hopes that Aksu will establish a regular cooperation mechanism with the SCO Multifunctional Economic and Trade Platform and its Research Institute’s Cross-Border E‑Commerce Center. On the one hand, leveraging Aksu’s strategic location, this partnership will help specialty products from southern Xinjiang reach global markets through Chongqing’s cross-border e‑commerce network. On the other hand, drawing on Chongqing’s manufacturing capacity, it will use Xinjiang’s border ports to extend connectivity to the five Central Asian countries, thereby achieving seamless integration between the Chongqing–Xinjiang–Europe corridor and the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan corridor.

During the talks, both sides engaged in an in-depth exchange on leveraging the Institute’s think-tank expertise to bolster cross-border trade and the development of cross-border e‑commerce. At present, the Cross-Border E‑Commerce International Trade Working Committee of the SCO Multifunctional Economic and Trade Platform has received approval and is actively preparing for its official launch.

Han Xiaoyun stated that, leveraging the SCO Multifunctional Economic and Trade Platform, Chongqing and neighboring enterprises will be organized to conduct market‑development training and product‑matching events in Central Asia. Using the cross‑border e‑commerce center as a bridge, this initiative will facilitate substantive cooperation between supply‑chain firms and logistics service providers. As the Chongqing–Xinjiang–Central Asia digital trade corridor continues to deepen in areas such as infrastructure development, policy coordination, and industrial collaboration, it is rapidly taking shape, injecting new momentum into the western region’s high‑level opening-up.

(Contributed by the Chongqing Institute for Digital and Intelligent Industrial Economic Development)