On 30 September 2020 in Chengdu (Sichuan province), SCO Secretary-General Vladimir Norov met with Vice Mayor Niu Qingbao and visited Chengdu Sport University.
Mr Norov spoke about the key areas of activity within the SCO and the Organisation's projects, with a focus on the preparations for the SCO Forum of Heads of Regions.
Considering the high economic potential of the Sichuan province in general and Chengdu in particular, the city's achievements in the electronics industry, the production of medical goods and innovative technology, Mr Norov encouraged local officials to get involved in active cooperation within the SCO.
Vice Mayor Niu Qingbao (who previously worked at the Chinese embassies in the United States, India and Australia) informed his counterpart about the current state of the city's economy, tourist industry and industrial production as well as about the prospects for expanding Chengdu's international ties.
The Vice Mayor praised the SCO's results in building security and combating cross-border organised crime and drug trafficking. He believes that at the current stage it is necessary to expand economic cooperation and Chengdu is ready to become a host city for the SCO's international events.
As concerns interregional cooperation, the Vice Mayor proposed discussing partnership links between Chengdu and cities of the SCO member states. He confirmed the municipal authorities' readiness to assist with the mutual improvement of investment connections between companies in Chengdu and the SCO countries.
Niu Qingbao also spoke about past and upcoming major international events in Chengdu, such as the 2021 Summer World University Games, and said he hoped young people from the SCO countries will be active participants in the games.
At Chengdu Sport University, the SCO Secretary-General met with Liu Qing, Secretary of the Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, and Shu Weiping, President of Chengdu Sport University.
Vladimir Norov briefed his counterparts on the current work within the SCO with respect to cultural and academic links, primarily in education and sports. He spoke about SCO University and its activities, as well as about the SCO Kunming Marathon — namely, he announced the fifth marathon that will be held on 6 December 2020 online, due to the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Vladimir Norov invited Chengdu senior officials and Sport University top management to an online presentation of SCO cultural and sport events that is scheduled for 18 October 2020.
As an effort to build cooperation between higher education institutions of the SCO countries in sports, the Sport University senior management proposed establishing an SCO research centre for fitness and sport medicine and a centre for traditional sports of the SCO countries.
Chengdu is the administrative centre of the Sichuan province. It has a population of 16.6 million and a GDP of 1.712 billion yuan. Some 280 million tourists visited the city in 2019, bringing 466.35 billion yuan in revenue to the local travel industry, which is 25.6 percent higher than in 2018.
Chengdu Sport University comprises more than 20 training and research departments. The university currently has 9,000 graduate and over 1,100 postgraduate students, 240 professors and 270 associate professors. More than 60,000 people have graduated from the university over 77 years. Chengdu Sport University has carried out 1,600 research projects since 2000, including 66 nationwide projects. The university has strong ties with more than 30 universities in 20 countries.
Since 2002, students and alumni of Chengdu Sport University have won a total of 271 gold medals, 249 silver medals and 241 bronze medals at Olympic Games, world championships, national championships and other international competitions.