The Granite Castle, located in Shinan district of east China’s Qingdao City, was built by the Russians, which tells the story of the city 100 years ago. 

That was when China was part of a wave of globalization in the 19th century. It happened, however, not on China’s terms and not to China’s benefit. At that time, Qingdao was a colonial city occupied by the Germans and then by the Japanese.

Fast forward 100 years, Qingdao is now at the forefront of China opening up to the world. It is a link within the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s new land and maritime silk route. In 2017, the city saw trade with the rest of the world amounting to some $80 billion. And half of that was with Belt and Road countries. It has seen an increase of 10 percent every year for three years. Qingdao, or for that matter China, has become a link between land and sea and between Asia and Europe.

The countries within the SCO are diverse. Some are big countries, some are small nations. Some are landlocked and some are by the sea. But they all desire a better life, mutual trust and a common destiny. Like a glass of Tsingtao beer, it is locally brewed, but globally shared.

The city of Qingdao will play host to the 2018 SCO summit. And why does this matter? The time period matters, as the world faces the choice of cooperation or division. The place matters, as closeness is redefined by connectivity. The agenda matters, as the world needs to know what kind of future we want for our children. Let us hope the SCO countries, which represent half of humanity and produce one fifth of the world’s GDP, can lay out a blueprint for the future in Qingdao.