The Chongqing Municipal Committee of the China National Democratic Construction Association conducted a research mission on key topics at the SCO Multifunctional Economic and Trade Platform.

On September 9, Yang Guang and Xin Qingquan, vice chairpersons of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the China National Democratic Construction Association, led a research delegation to the Multifunctional Economic and Trade Platform of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states. They conducted field research on the key topic of “Building an Inland Openness and International Cooperation Leading Zone” and convened a symposium. Liu Jianhua, chairman of the Liangjiang New Area Committee of the China National Democratic Construction Association, accompanied the delegation. Officials from relevant municipal departments—including the Municipal Commission of Commerce, the Municipal Development and Reform Commission, the Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, the Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, and the Municipal Intellectual Property Bureau—as well as representatives from the Liangjiang New Area Science and Technology Bureau, the District Commerce Commission, the Multifunctional Economic and Trade Platform of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states, and Chongqing Shiji Jingxin Industrial (Group) Co., Ltd., attended the event.

The research delegation listened to a briefing on the platform’s construction and operations, gaining an in-depth understanding of its practical achievements in advancing international economic and trade cooperation and in facilitating enterprises’ efforts to “go global” and “attract investment.”

Xin Qingquan chaired the symposium. He began by outlining the background of the research. He noted that, in accordance with the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the CPC’s 2026 plan for political party consultation, the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the China National Democratic Construction Association has designated “Building an Inland Openness and International Cooperation Leading Zone” as its key annual research topic. The aim is to focus on elevating the level of innovation-driven openness and cooperation, examining critical areas such as attracting innovative resources, enabling enterprises to expand overseas, facilitating the repatriation and commercialization of foreign‑originated achievements, advancing institutional openness, and fostering a robust ecosystem of professional services—seeking to assess the current situation, identify bottlenecks, and propose targeted solutions. This visit to the Liangjiang New Area is intended to draw on frontline practices at platforms, industrial parks, and enterprises, thereby laying a solid foundation for producing high‑quality research findings.

At the symposium, comrades from municipal departments—including Xu Yingjun, Director of the Planning and Development Division of the Municipal Commission of Commerce; Fan Chao, Deputy Director of the Cooperation Division of the Municipal Development and Reform Commission; Yu Lun, Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Cooperation Division of the Municipal Science and Technology Bureau; Liu Lin, Deputy Director of the Comprehensive Division (International Cooperation Division) of the Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau; and Ye Chunmei, a second‑level researcher in the Intellectual Property Protection Division of the Municipal Intellectual Property Bureau—each, drawing on their respective functions and responsibilities, outlined Chongqing’s policy framework, progress to date, and the key challenges and bottlenecks it faces in building an inland open‑economy international cooperation demonstration zone. Meanwhile, officials from the Liangjiang New Area’s Science and Technology Bureau and its Commerce Commission presented the latest developments in advancing innovation‑driven open cooperation within the New Area.

Wang Jianping, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Multifunctional Economic and Trade Platform, extended a warm welcome to the research delegation on behalf of Hu Kaiqiang, Director-General of the Platform and Deputy Director of the Committee on Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Overseas Chinese Affairs, and Foreign Affairs of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Drawing on the Platform’s six-year operational experience since its establishment in Chongqing, he highlighted its explorations and reflections on advancing institutional openness and facilitating the internationalization of China’s industrial value chains. He explained that the Platform has adopted an innovative organizational model, leveraging industry working committees as key mechanisms, and championing the goal of flattening the “smile curve.” It has thus fostered a collaborative innovation framework characterized by central state-owned enterprises taking the lead, state-owned enterprises providing support, private enterprises serving as pioneers, and foreign-invested enterprises as partners, while actively seeking pathways for Chinese value chains to go global. Focusing on institutional openness, he shared two concrete case studies: the comprehensive overseas expansion of China’s (Chongqing) automotive value chain and the localization of lightweight alloy materials for high-end cruise ships. He also outlined a new “Chongqing‑based automotive hub plus overseas automotive cities” dual‑park linkage model, along with progress in substituting domestically produced materials for imported ones in the cruise‑ship lightweight alloy sector. In addition, addressing practical challenges faced in industrial implementation, he put forward specific recommendations regarding securing preferential policies for domestic enterprises engaged in processing‑with‑materials‑supplied at bonded ports, as well as clarifying tax, foreign‑exchange, and trade‑attribute classification rules for emerging business models such as cross‑border AI data trading. He expressed hope that iterative policy improvements will better empower Chongqing-based companies to engage in offshore trade, cross‑border data services, and other forms of international cooperation.

Relevant officials from Chongqing Shiji Jingxin Industrial (Group) Co., Ltd. and other related entities provided an overview of the company’s overseas R&D deployment and related matters.

During the interactive discussion session, participants engaged in an in-depth exchange on the key challenges and priorities identified in the research topic. Experts from the research team—Wang Rui, Zhang Jian, Cao Yunshi, and others—shared their insights on specific issues such as the operational effectiveness of international science and technology cooperation platforms, the attraction and development of foreign‑invested R&D institutions, overseas R&D registration and post‑investment integration for enterprises, cross‑border intellectual property protection, and cross‑border data flows, exchanging views with representatives from participating government departments and businesses. All agreed that Chongqing has already established a favorable momentum in building itself into a leading hub for inland open‑door international cooperation; however, bottlenecks remain in areas such as policy alignment, inter‑departmental coordination, and the development of a specialized service ecosystem, underscoring the need to deepen reforms, pursue pilot initiatives, and further enhance service delivery.

In his concluding remarks, Yang Guang expressed gratitude to all units for their support of the research project. He emphasized that establishing an inland open‑international cooperation demonstration zone is a key strategic lever for Chongqing to leverage its advantages as a comprehensive inland hub and to integrate more deeply into the global innovation network. The research team must elevate its political awareness, thoroughly study and implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speeches and instructions during his inspection of Chongqing, align with the decisions and arrangements of the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government, and ensure that their work both stays closely aligned with the overarching national and municipal priorities, reflects Chongqing’s specific realities, and meets the demands of the times. They should focus on priority areas, adopt a “small‑but‑significant” approach, identify precise entry points, gain a clear understanding of the current situation, and explore viable pathways, thereby providing robust evidence for their research report through rigorous fieldwork and concrete case studies, and effectively enhancing the relevance and practical impact of their study. Finally, they must remain pragmatic and fact‑based, carefully collate and incorporate the experiences and practices shared by relevant departments and enterprises, and, in particular, continue to follow up on and delve into the challenges, issues, and suggestions raised by stakeholders, striving to produce a high‑quality research report at the earliest possible date.

As a key stop on this fact-finding mission, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization’s Multifunctional Economic and Trade Platform has fully demonstrated its unique strengths in advancing local economic and trade cooperation between Chongqing and SCO member states, as well as in facilitating international technology transfer and aligning innovation resources. According to platform officials, they will take this visit as an opportunity to further strengthen the platform’s role as a bridge and link, helping Chongqing become a leading hub for inland open‑door international cooperation and ensuring the successful implementation of more international collaborative projects.