The coastal city of Yantai in East China's Shandong province is enhancing its cooperation with members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in line with the central government's policy of opening-up.

As an important port city along the Silk Road, Yantai's cross-border trade with SCO countries encompasses timber, oil, chemicals and biomedicine.

Last month, six sets of advanced facilities from Yantai-based Jereh Group were exported to Uzbekistan to support the exploitation of oil and gas resources in that country.

The 30 million yuan ($4.69 million) project features devices that provide a high level of accuracy, automation and greater efficiency. Their real-time data collection and remote control functions will help to establish a sustainable data management system.

Jereh has also sent engineers to Uzbekistan to train local technicians. Wang Feng, vice-president of Jereh, said the deal allows the Central Asian country to optimize its energy exploitation and the company to expand its global business.

Jereh said it would, via the ongoing SCO Summit, continue to offer SCO members different oil and gas field smart equipment solutions and help global oil gas exploitation to become more efficient and safer.

In 2017 and so far in 2018, Yantai has conducted many cooperative projects with SCO member countries.

In August, Yantai Tongxiang Food Co invested $4.5 million in Russia as part of an aquaculture project involving cultivation, processing and sales of seafood.

Yanjian Group from Yantai won the bidding to build a steam heating system for a Sino-Tajikistan mining company in February this year. Yanjian also constructed a kindergarten near where the company operates to provide care and education to the children of employees.

Aowei Refrigeration Equipment Co, a local refrigeration engineering and installation accessories producer, established an office in India in May 2017.

Liu Sen, director of the Yantai bureau of commerce, said the city would continue to emphasize on the construction of overseas projects and cooperative zones to help build an open economy in keeping with the country's Belt and Road Initiative.

The Sino-Russia Tomsk Wood Trading Cooperation Zone, constructed by AVIC Forestry, a Yantai-based timber processing company, was one of the first two national-level overseas economic and trade cooperation zones.

From Tomsk in Russia, to Harbin, Dalian, Shanghai and Qingdao, cross-border trains have transported timber processed at the zone. As much as 400,000 cubic meters of timber has been transported from Russia to China since 2014, to be used in furniture and paper manufacturing.

Liu added that the government will provide consultancy, training and investment services to back local companies on their way to going global.

The bureau has established an information base for up to 60 enterprises that are involved in the manufacturing of machinery, petrifaction, metallurgy, textiles, auto parts and food industries, and are interested in overseas investment.

It will organize meetings to expand understanding of overseas investment and provide financial support to meet companies' demands for outbound business, such as building marketing networks, processing plants, research platforms and construction projects.

He added the industrial parks are good platforms to help many industries go global. Major Yantai-based companies specializing in mining, food processing, oil equipment and trade services can expand their business and influence worldwide, Liu said.

(China Daily 06/09/2018 page14)