An official ceremony of the singing of an agreement on development and implementation of the cross-border unified digital platform along the route China (Xi’an)  - Kazakhstan (Dostyk, Altyn) – Russia (Selyatino) will take place on the margins of a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) heads of state in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, on July 2.

At the SCO summit, which will take place in Kazakhstan’s capital, Astana, from July 3-4, China, Kazakhstan and Russia will announce the creation of a digital corridor along the route of the Great Silk Road.  The move is expected to significantly simplify cross-border movement of goods.

Slavtrans-Service’s press center says the unified digital platform will integrate customs services of the three countries as well as the largest marketplaces of Russia and China, including Alibabab, Pindouoduo, JD and 1688, into the single seamless system.

The following companies are parties to the agreement: Joint-Stock Company (JSC); Slavtrans-Service; Xi'an Free Trade Port Construction & Operation; and Kazakhstan Temir Zholy.

The corresponding platform is being developed by the joint venture CRK Terminal, based in Selyatino near Moscow. The corridor will connect the customs services of three countries and their largest marketplaces.

At the same time, the digital corridor will be open to other countries in the region, which will be able to join it in order to create a unified trading system.

“By creating conditions for seamless transit, right now we are taking a step towards the formation of the Greater Eurasian Partnership,” said Andrey Gollandtsev, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Slavtrans-Service, said.

Completion of development and release of the platform is scheduled for September of this year. The first foreign trade transactions are expected to be concluded in October.