* Tianjin is poised to host the largest-ever Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit on Sunday and Monday.

* Tianjin is the fourth Chinese city to host the SCO summit.

* Though geographically distant from most of the bloc's member countries, port cities have played a big part in boosting economic ties and regional cooperation.

TIANJIN, Aug. 30 (Xinhua) -- Tianjin, a 600-year-old port city in north China, is poised to host the largest-ever Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit on Sunday and Monday, underscoring China's commitment to enhancing regional cooperation and fostering dialogue across diverse civilizations.

With leaders from more than 20 countries and 10 international organizations set to participate, the upcoming summit is expected to pool consensus and steer the organization toward building a closer community with a shared future.

Tianjin is the fourth Chinese city to host the SCO summit, after Shanghai, Beijing and Qingdao. Except for Beijing, the other three are major port cities in China.

Though geographically distant from most of the bloc's member countries, these port cities have played a big part in boosting economic ties and regional cooperation while upholding the spirit of openness.

"Ports are China's gates to the world, and the world's gates to China," said Sheradil Baktygulov, director of the Institute of World Policy of Kyrgyzstan, who has been to Shanghai, Qingdao and Tianjin.

These three cities serve as examples of how new technologies and land and sea routes have given fresh breath to the ancient Silk Road's spirit of cooperation, he added.

SAILING FROM SHANGHAI

As the name suggests, the SCO set sail from Shanghai, jointly established in 2001 by China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The bloc, now consisting of 10 member states, two observer states and 14 dialogue partners from Asia, Europe and Africa, has evolved into a comprehensive organization encompassing nearly half of the world's population, a quarter of the global landmass and a quarter of global GDP.

Primarily formed to address security concerns, the bloc has seen deepened political mutual trust and fruitful cooperation among member states -- which has facilitated regional stability, steady trade growth, joint infrastructure projects and coordinated action in fields such as food and energy security.

Shanghai, a trade hub in east China and at the forefront of the country's reform and opening up, has witnessed growing cooperation. SCO countries have figured prominently at the China International Import Expo, bringing the likes of Iranian dates, Mongolian chocolate, Afghan nuts and Turkish beer to the dining tables of Chinese consumers. Also, high-tech products like 3D printers are exported from Shanghai to SCO markets, while China-Europe freight trains departing from Shanghai have functioned as a key logistics corridor linking the city with Eurasia.

The city has also given its name to the concept known as the SCO Shanghai Spirit that features mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diverse civilizations and pursuit of common development.

Liu Huaqin, a researcher with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation of the Ministry of Commerce, said the Shanghai Spirit has transcended outdated concepts such as the clash of civilizations, the Cold War mentality and the zero-sum game while reflecting the shared aspirations of emerging economies and Global South countries.

EXPANDING COOPERATION

Qingdao, in east China's Shandong Province, hosted the SCO summit in 2018 following the bloc's first membership expansion, while witnessing efforts to facilitate trade and business cooperation.

At that landmark summit, SCO members adopted "building a community with a shared future for humanity" as their most important political consensus and the goal for their future efforts.

The China-SCO Local Economic and Trade Cooperation Demonstration Area (SCODA), established in Qingdao later that same year as an outcome of the summit, has since launched four TIR routes to the SCO member countries of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan -- with at least one truck departing daily for Russia or Central Asia.

TIR, an abbreviation for Transports Internationaux Routiers, or International Road Transport, is an efficient customs transit system that is particularly ideal for high-value goods like precision instruments and perishables. In the first seven months of 2025, the SCODA handled 239 TIR shipments -- up 134.3 percent year on year, with cargo value skyrocketing by 190.5 percent, according to Song Tao, deputy head of Jiaozhou Customs in Qingdao.

Qingdao has also been named 2024-2025 "SCO tourism and culture capital," a title aimed at tapping into the potential of regional tourism cooperation and promoting cultural exchanges within the SCO framework.

Figures show China's trade with other SCO member states reached 3.65 trillion yuan (about 514 billion U.S. dollars) in 2024 -- 36 times as much as that at the organization's inception. In the first seven months of 2025, trade data hit a record of 2.11 trillion yuan, up 3 percent year on year.

PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE BONDS

Located at the confluence of river and sea, Tianjin historically served as a vital hub connecting both north and south China and East-West civilizations. This city now also functions as a key land-sea junction along the Belt and Road, the eastern end of the China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor and a critical node on the New Eurasian Land Bridge.

Departing from Tianjin Port, locally produced steel products reach the Port of Karachi in Pakistan in about one month, helping to support the development of infrastructure there.

"The preferential policy -- a 5.5-percent tariff reduction under the China-Pakistan free trade agreement -- saves us nearly 200,000 U.S. dollars annually," said Muhammad Shafiq, manager of a steel importer in Pakistan.

Rooted in a deep-seated culture of openness, these three Chinese port cities are also fostering cultural exchanges and strengthening people-to-people bonds among SCO members.

Earlier this month, an SCO youth cultural bazaar called "Kaleidoscope" was held in Tianjin, where young people from SCO countries enjoyed the charm of Chinese culture through Peking opera, calligraphy, tea ceremonies and other activities.

"Though we come from diverse backgrounds, like fragments in a kaleidoscope, we know each other through mutual respect and appreciation," said Gulshanoy Yuldasheva, a student from Uzbekistan.

Li Qiang, dean of the School of International Relations at Tianjin Foreign Studies University, noted that these three port cities are not only renowned for their picturesque scenery and convenient transportation, but also serve as vital gateways connecting China with other SCO countries.

"Their longstanding openness is fostering mutual learning and friendship among civilizations, injecting lasting vitality into regional cooperation," he said. 
(Video reporters: Li Shuai and Hao Jie; video editors: Zhu Cong, Mu Xuyao, Zheng Qingbin and Zheng Xin)  ■