More than 100 officials, scholars and entrepreneurs hailing from Shanghai Cooperation Organization member countries expressed strong confidence in enhanced regional cooperation while touring Tianjin on Monday.

"I am greatly impressed by the favorable conditions created here for conducting business," said Sherzod Fayziev, deputy director of Uzbekistan's International Institute for Central Asia, as he visited Tianjin Port. "We sincerely hope this port can play a crucial role in connecting China with East and Central Asian countries."

The port, a major hub for projects related to the Belt and Road Initiative, connects over 180 countries and regions via maritime routes and facilitates inland trade through the China-Europe Railway Express.

"The second terminal of Tianjin Port is the world's first smart, zero-carbon terminal," said Xie Jinnan, who works for the information department of Tianjin Port Second Container Terminal Co.

Powered entirely by solar and wind energy, it produces 60 million kilowatt-hours of green electricity annually and operates autonomous container handling systems via a 5G connection powered by navigation platform Beidou, he said.

"Tianjin Port showcases achievements made possible by digital and intelligent technologies while considering ecological balance," said Igor Khodachek, director of the Center for Eurasian Studies at European University at St. Petersburg, Russia. "Using green energy reduces environmental burden, and unmanned systems enable efficient resource utilization.

"China is a leader in civilization, welcomed globally," he added, anticipating "positive outcomes" from SCO Summit that will be held in autumn. "Belt and Road Initiative now attracts many nations."

In the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city, the world's first intergovernmental cooperative ecocity initiated by China and Singapore established in 2008, data from smart communities, smart education, smart healthcare and other fields are monitored in real-time by the City Brain. This system can track data such as the location of public transportation vehicles, parking space availability and waste collection volume in real-time.

"I have rarely seen an eco-city with such a high level of intelligence, especially the smart waste sorting technology, which is very much worth learning," said Aziz Kanatbek, director of the Research Institute of Geopolitics and Strategy in Kyrgyzstan.

"I hope and believe that Kyrgyzstan will cooperate more deeply with China in the construction of eco-cities."

At the Luban Workshop Experience Center, the foreign experts discussed China's model for overseas vocational education.

Spearheaded by Tianjin, the Luban Workshop is an international vocational education project that has established schools in more than 30 countries. It leverages the image of Lu Ban, an ancient Chinese woodcraft master, to connect Tianjin's vocational education with the world.

"China has provided many valuable experiences in vocational education, and the Luban Workshop is a great example," said Eduard Eduardovich Poletayev, president of the World of Eurasia Public Foundation.

Wang Baolong, dean of the Mechanical Engineering College at Tianjin Light Industry Vocational Technical College, said the workshop will help strengthen international relationships.

"We will use the Luban Workshop as a platform to promote cooperation and connectivity between China and other countries, jointly develop industry standards and share educational resources," Wang said.

Ibrahim Maher, an Egyptian student who studied computer numerical control technology at the college for the past year, said: "The cooperation between China and Egypt in vocational education over recent years has been very inspiring, especially with the innovative Luban Workshop. In the future, I hope to introduce this teaching concept to Egypt to support the development of vocational education there."

yandongjie@chinadaily.com.cn