Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- On 17 February, the opening ceremony of the trade pavilion of Uzbekistan took place on the territory of the international EXPO center in the Chinese city of Qingdao "China is the pearl of the SCO pilot zone," Dunyo news agency reported.

In addition to Uzbekistan, this complex hosts trade pavilions of other SCO member states.

The opening ceremony was attended by representatives of the administrations of Shandong Province and the city of Qingdao, business circles, the regional department of the Ministry of Commerce of China, the embassies of Central Asian countries in China, and the media.

On the shelves of the trade exhibition of Uzbekistan, export products manufactured in our country are presented.

In particular, these are fruit juices, natural honey, dried fruits, confectionery, mineral water, saffron, textile and leather industry products, cable, and handicrafts.

The area of the trade pavilion of Uzbekistan, installed in the EXPO center, is 600 square meters. The guests were especially impressed by the statue of Amir Temur, standing in the middle of the pavilion in the national style, the madrasah of Mirzo Ulugbek in the Registan ensemble, models of the towers of Bukhara. On the inner walls of the pavilion there is information about the modern development of Uzbekistan, the history, culture of our country, the tourism potential and bilateral cooperation between Uzbekistan and China.

The initiative to create a pilot zone for the development of regional trade and economic cooperation between China and the SCO in Qingdao was put forward by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the 18th summit of the SCO member states in 2018.

The total area of the EXPO Center, called "China - the pearl of the SCO pilot zone", is 168,000 square meters. The EXPO Center allows the participants of the Belt and Road Initiative and the SCO member states to hold exhibitions, product sales, large-scale conferences and meetings free of charge.

This direction is of great practical importance from the point of view of the further development of trade, economic and logistical systemic cooperation between Uzbekistan and China and the SCO countries as a whole.

It is worth noting that Qingdao is the eastern port of the transcontinental Asia-Europe corridor, as well as one of the fourteen major cities bordering the sea in China. Also, the status of Qingdao is called the new port city of East China with modern industry, foreign trade and tourism.