Recently, the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee convened a meeting to deliberate the Planning Outline for the Construction of Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle.
The meeting stressed that the Chengdu-Chongqing area should strive for a vital growth pole and a new power source to drive the country's high-quality development.
In terms of the economic strength, the Chengdu-Chongqing area possesses two national central cities, Chongqing and Chengdu, with a GDP of nearly seven trillion yuan in 2019 and an economic aggregate accounting for 33.25% of the western region, making it the fourth-largest regional economic entity following the three coastal growth poles.
Against the backdrop of COVID-19, Chongqing and Sichuan's economic growth rates reached 2.6% and 2.4%, respectively, in the first three quarters of this year, ranking among the highest in the country.
In addition, the Chengdu-Chongqing area maintains a leading position in the western region in terms of the industrial base, infrastructure, research and education, and opening-up. As an important global electronic information industrial base, the area has formed a world-class industrial cluster of "chips, LCD panels, intelligent terminals, core components, and Internet of Things (IoT)," with a production capacity of about one-third of the world's total.
Furthermore, the meeting held by the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on October 16 pointed out that promoting the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle is a major initiative to build a new development pattern whereby domestic and foreign markets can boost each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay.
The city view of Chongqing.
In recent years, global supply and value chains have accelerated migration and restructuring due to the rise of emerging countries in Southeast Asia and South Asia and the pursuit of protectionism and unilateralism by a few countries. In China, which has long been the world's factory, some coastal export-oriented enterprises have chosen to move abroad.
In terms of building a high-quality internal circulation system, some experts said, with the rise of China's western region in the future, this labor division system will likely be "internalized" in our country. The west and central regions offer resources and products, while the eastern coastal region acts as a "consumer" to reshape the global economic landscape and promote the long-term stable development of the country.
Concerning expanding new space for external circulation, the total number of departures of China Railway Express (CR Express) trains from Chongqing and Chengdu has exceeded 10,000, accounting for more than 40% of the total of CR Express trains in the country.
The total number of China Railway Express (CR Express) departures trains from Chongqing, and Chengdu has exceeded 10,000.
When the global sea and air transportation were blocked during the pandemic, CR Express played an essential role in maintaining the global industrial chain and supply chain's stability by transporting goods and materials like international relief supplies and a backlog of international mail.
Chengdu-Chongqing high-speed rail train.
Specifically, the foreign trade data of the Chengdu-Chongqing area confirms its unique location advantage.
In the first three quarters of this year, the total import and export value of China only increased by 0.7% compared to the same period last year due to the impact of the pandemic, while that of Chongqing and Sichuan rose by 11.4% and 22.7% respectively, much higher than the national rate of increase.
Additionally, Chengdu and Chongqing are also initiators, promoters, and operators of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC). As the fastest access to the sea in the western region, ILSTC has covered 240 ports in 94 countries and regions worldwide, and the number achieved rapid growth against the trend during the pandemic.
In the first three quarters of this year, the departure number of vehicles via rail-sea transport, cross-border road transport, and cross-border rail transport grew by 109%, 154%, and 171%, respectively.