The China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization forum on digital economy and the Smart China Expo 2021 are being held from Aug 23-25 in southwestern China's Chongqing municipality.

The forums will serve as a platform for strengthening exchanges between Chongqing and SCO countries, as well as further promoting multilateral cooperation, consultation and progress, according to local officials.

China-SCO Forum

With a theme of "promoting common prosperity by developing digital economy", the event consists of an opening ceremony, a main forum, signing ceremonies for cooperation projects, subforums and themed exhibitions, focusing on topics such as the digital economy, e-commerce, smart tourism, logistics, development of e-channels, and the development of a multifunctional economic and trade platform for the Chongqing Liangjiang New Area and the SCO countries.

More than 610 companies are participating in the exhibitions being held both online and offline.

Chongqing and the SCO will jointly build a development cooperation platform for the digital economy that will promote international exchanges and cooperation in the field and achieve common development that is mutually beneficial to all parties, organizers said.

The platform will also help Chongqing accelerate the construction of an international exchange center for the central-western region of China, which will further enhance the international visibility and reputation of Chongqing, and showcase its positive image for opening-up and cooperation.

The secretary-general of the SCO and dignitaries from participating countries attend the opening ceremony and main forum online, during which they deliver speeches.

The 10,000-square-meter China-SCO Digital Economy Cooperation Pavilion has been set up in the Chongqing International Expo Center, with all 18 SCO countries participating.

The core display area reflects the strong bonds of cooperation among the participating countries.

According to organizers, the pavilion makes full use of new generation technology such 5G, virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality and digital 3D simulation.

The Chinese area showcases exchanges and cooperation with SCO countries in areas of logistics, transportation, cultural tourism and intelligent manufacturing.

Russian telecoms operators and Chinese companies have jointly built a network integrating sea, land, air and space, while the Indian International Institute of Information Technology and Tata Manufacturing Technology Consulting are displaying their cooperation with China.

Turkish Airlines is exhibiting advanced medical testing and information management methods to ensure the safety and comfort of passengers, which are part of their Safe Travel plan.

The forum aims to build a platform for digital economic and trade cooperation through deep exchanges and inject new vitality into joint construction of the SCO community and shared future, organizers said.

The event will provide new impetus in the promotion of smooth economic cycles in the region and speed up economic and social recovery due to the pandemic, as a large number of manufacturing enterprises continue to be empowered thanks to the industrial internet and intelligent transformation.

Chongqing is a traditional manufacturing city that is moving to promote digitization, networking and intelligence, so the forum will serve as a platform to draw from the experiences of other SCO countries in the digital economy, meeting the development needs of Chongqing in this field, and further promoting the deep integration of the internet, big data and AI in the real economy.

Smart China Expo

The 2021 Smart China Expo, another high-level event being held from Aug 23 to 25 in Chongqing, aims to promote exchanges in smart technologies and international cooperation in the smart industry.

The SCE will highlight the industrial internet. In-depth cooperation and exchanges will be held on the theme of economics and trade, with major highlights set to feature project signing ceremonies involving countries and top enterprises involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, as well as international organizations, sister cities and industry leaders. The Industrial Internet Exhibition has a dedicated floor space of 20,000 sq m, while the Chongqing Pavilion is focusing on the industrial internet through technical scenarios including digital twin factories with flexible production lines.

A digital sand table model is being used to guide visitors through the online exhibition platform, with immersive and scenario-based experiences presenting the impressive results achieved in the development of smart technology.

The Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle will be another area of attention, with forums themed on the high-quality development of industrial parks, and the integrated development in smart medical care bringing innovation to the whole region.

Intelligent Chongqing

Intelligent residential communities have developed in Chongqing, and feature around a dozen examples of advanced technologies including smart entrances, security systems, facilities and management services using mobile applications.

In recent years, car ownership has been on the rise as high-quality development has attracted ever more new residents, a trend that has posed great challenges for traffic management. A new smart transportation platform focuses on sore points in the road traffic network, using big data and AI. The system minimizes traffic congestion, provides real-time solutions and improves road safety.

The Chongqing Sky-Shuttle Demonstration Line project's Sky-Shuttle (Yunba) is the first driverless monorail system of its kind worldwide.

The success serves as a model for cities around the world, as smart autonomous transit system provides a seamless passenger experience from stations, information and boarding through to payments. Yukuaiban 3.0 is a mobile application that offers a whole range of government services through a single online platform, eliminating the need to physically go to government departments. Furthermore, version 3.0 is now more user-friendly than ever with even more functions available.