On the afternoon of November 8, the seminar titled “Forging New Silk Road Commerce, Facilitating Global Circulation——Jointly Building Sustainable Trade and Circulation for the ‘Belt and Road’ Initiative”, hosted by SBS, was successfully held at the Primus Hotel Shanghai Hongqiao. Nearly 50 participants gathered for the event, including Level-2 Inspector Liu Zhaohui from the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Commerce, Vice President Zhang Shaohua of SBS, 38 business officials from relevant departments of 12 countries, including Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Panama, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, The Gambia, Vietnam, Zambia，along with some domestic experts and scholars. The seminar was presided over by Chen Wei, Secretary of the Directly-affiliated Party Branch of the International Education College and Executive Dean of the Belt and Road Sustainable Development Research Institute from SBS.
（Seminar Venue）
In the opening address, Liu Zhaohui pointed out that the China International Import Expo (CIIE) has become a central stage for connecting Chinese and international markets, integrating industries, mutually promoting innovation, and sharing regulatory practices, creating significant opportunities in the field of sustainable trade and circulation. She stated that this seminar is timely and expressed her expectation that Chinese and international guests would take this opportunity to build consensus, deepen exchanges, and engage in in-depth discussions on key issues such as technological innovation, model upgrading, and regulatory coordination. She looked forward to jointly exploring new spaces for cooperation, drawing a new blueprint for development, injecting stronger commercial momentum into the high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative, and achieving mutual benefit and win-win outcomes.
（Liu Zhaohui delivering speech）
Speaking on behalf of the host organization, Zhang Shaohua emphasized that this seminar serves as an important platform bridging the Belt and Road Initiative with international high-standard economic and trade rules, and is a key link in facilitating the global trade circulation. He hoped that participants would pool their wisdom, share practical insights, address real-world needs, and jointly explore new pathways for digital technology to enable sustainable commerce, thereby opening new spaces for deepening economic and trade cooperation among Silk Road countries and enhancing the well-being of their peoples.
（Zhang Shaohua delivering speech）
During the expert presentation session, Lu Qixing, Deputy Director of the Pudong New Area Commission of Commerce, first delivered a keynote speech titled “Interpretation of the Shanghai Silk Road E-commerce Cooperation Pilot Zone Plan”. He systematically elaborated on the pilot zone’s core objectives, practical pathways for aligning with international high-standard economic and trade rules, and key measures such as digital trade innovation and cross-border service optimization, providing clear practical guidance for the attendees.
（Lu Qixing delivering speech）
Associate Professor Li Yuangang, Vice Dean of the School of Business Information, delivered a presentation titled “China’s Practice and International Cooperation in Cross-Border Data Flow Applications”. He systematically outlined China’s regulatory framework and practical achievements in this field, analyzed the challenges and pain points in Belt and Road data circulation, and proposed solutions balancing security and efficiency, offering constructive ideas for the collaborative development of digital commerce.
（Li Yuangang delivering speech）
Mr. Rashad Ayyubzada, Chief Advisor of the Department of Foreign Economic Relations under the Cabinet of Azerbaijan, shared a presentation titled “China and Azerbaijan: Creating a New Chapter in Belt and Road Economic and Trade Cooperation”. He introduced Azerbaijan’s locational advantages as a Silk Road hub, highlighted the vast opportunities created by the Belt and Road Initiative for businesses of both countries, and expressed a strong willingness to deepen connectivity with China and other countries along the routes. He looked forward to taking this seminar as a new starting point to jointly explore new channels of cooperation and elevate bilateral sustainable trade relations to new heights.
（Expert from Azerbaijan delivering speech）
As an important supporting event of the 7th China International Import Expo, this conference successfully established a high-level dialogue platform, bringing together elites from government, business, and academia, both Chinese and international, for in-depth discussions on key topics including Belt and Road sustainable trade and circulation, digital trade innovation, and cross-border cooperation. In recent years, Shanghai, as an international metropolis, has focused on building the “Silk Road E-commerce” Cooperation Pilot Zone, actively aligned with international high-standard economic and trade rules, continuously deepened innovative practices in the field of digital commerce, and strived to build a Belt and Road digital commerce hub, injecting strong impetus into facilitating the global circulation.
Written by: Sun Ya
Photography by: Li Zheng
Reviewed by: Chen Wei
