On March 18, the Picturephone Meeting on Chongqing's Opening-up, Business and Logistics was held to make arrangements for the work of Chongqing in the three aspects. As the COVID-19 epidemic has had an impact on all kinds of work to varying degrees, what shall Chongqing do soon in opening-up, business and logistics after the resumption of work and production in a bid to catch up with the original schedule?

Speed up the Recovery of Consumption Hotspots and Actively Expand Online Consumption

"The business this year has been affected by the epidemic.  Given the current situation, the general requirements of this year are first to catch up with the national average in the first quarter; second, the total retail sales of consumer goods and foreign trade and investment must turn from negative to positive in the first half-year; third, to achieve recovery growth and strive to realize the full-year target in the second half-year."  indicated Zhang Zhikui, Secretary of Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce, when talking about the overall goal for this year.

In terms of promoting consumption, Chongqing will focus on both long-term and short-term objectives. Sales promotion will be stepped up, the recovery of consumption hotspots such as catering, business circles, tourism, culture, and entertainment will be sped up, and the consumption of staple commodities including automobiles will be stabilized. Meanwhile, the quality and expansion of service consumption will be promoted, and the potential of emerging consumption will be released at a faster speed.

Advance the Export of Superior Products Through a Number of Special Actions and Plans

In terms of foreign trade, Chongqing will help enterprises get orders and assured order sources, keep customers, acquire and maintain channels, and gain a stable market share. Li Yu, Deputy Chief of Chongqing Customs District P.R.CHINA, said, Chongqing Customs District P.R.CHINA this year will implement a series of measures to improve the business environment, support enterprises in

opening up the international market and advance the export of superior products such as automobiles, motorcycles, and general machinery.

Zhang Zhikui also noted, Chongqing will energetically attract investment on the Cloud and sign contracts online with the aim to further the landing of major foreign-funded projects. In addition, Chongqing will keep a close eye on foreign investment intentions, agreements and contract projects to improve the implementation and commercialization of projects.

Develop New Western Land-Sea Corridor and CR Express (Yuxinou) at the Same Time

"We will continue to deepen the development of the new western land-sea corridor and improve its operational efficiency,"  said Nie Hongyan, Director of the Port and Logistics Office of Chongqing Municipal People’s Government, adding that they will strive to maintain the high-speed development of the three operational modes of the new western land-sea corridor, namely rail-sea multi-modal transport, cross-border highway transport, and international rail transport.

Han Baochang, Director General of China-Singapore Demonstration Project Administration, indicated that based on the new western land-sea corridor, Chongqing and Singapore will together formulate international cooperation planning in high standards, define the direction and focus of cooperation in the next step, and explore and establish a development path and a cooperation mechanism in which the development of industries is promoted by trade that is promoted by the channels, creating 2.0 version of the new western land-sea corridor.