Firmly seizing the opportunity brought by the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, Ba'nan District of Chongqing is vigorously advancing economic and social development while carrying out regular prevention and control of the COVID-19 pandemic. As the internal motivation for advancing economic growth is strengthened, high-quality development sees sound momentum, and the market demand continues improving. In the first half of this year, the regional GDP of Banan reached 44.57 billion yuan, up 12.9% year on year. The growth rate was 0.2 percentage points higher than the national average and 0.1 percentage points higher than the municipal average, ranking 5th in Chongqing's central urban area and 8th in the main metropolitan area.
Three main industries developed
The primary industry in Banan grew steadily, and the production of summer grain crops remained stable. The added value of agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry, and fishery reached 2.04 billion yuan, increasing 7.7%. The growth rate ranked 2nd in the central urban area. The average growth rate in the two years reached 5.7%, 0.1 percentage points higher than the average level of Chongqing. The secondary industry of Banan witnessed a continued positive trend, with an added value of 18.23 billion yuan, a rise of 16.5%, which was 3.3 percentage points higher than Chongqing's average. The growth rate ranked 4th in the central urban area and 5th in the main metropolitan area. The average growth rate was 8.0% in the two years, 1.1 percentage points higher than the city's average. The tertiary industry saw a steady recovery, with an added value of 24.3 billion yuan, up 10.8%. The revenue of service enterprises above the designated size in Banan totaled 19.78 billion yuan, climbing 35.5%, 1.9 percentage points higher than Chongqing's average. Among them, enterprises in such fields as transportation and warehousing, mail business, leasing, and business affairs, residential services, culture, sports and recreation, and scientific research maintained rapid growth, up 42.7%, 41.8%, 58.4%, 100%, and 85.4% respectively.
The aerial view of the industrial park in Ba'nan (Photo / Ba'nan Publicity Department)
Consumption played a prominent part
As the policy to "expand domestic demand and promote consumption" had been taking action, consumption recovered stably. In the first half of the year, the retail sales of consumer goods amounted to 27.5 billion yuan, jumping 29.4%, with an average growth of 16.1% in the two years. The growth rate was 6.3 percentage points higher than the average of Chongqing. Banan strove for a smooth "dual circulation" of domestic and international markets, facilitated high-quality opening-up, and improved the import and export quality stably. The first half-year saw foreign investment in the actual use of 85.91 million U.S. dollars in Banan, a surge of 187.8%. The total import and export volume reached 9.72 billion yuan, expanding by 54.2%. The value of goods transported into and out of Nanpeng Highway Bonded Logistics Center (Type B) surged 181% to 5,056 million yuan. Chongqing Cross-border Highway Regular Lorry opened a direct line from Chongqing to Vientiane, Laos, and made the city the first among inland provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) in western China to receive the GMS driving license. The new route to Kyrgyzstan was officially opened on June 21. The cross-border highway regular lorry witnessed 1,666 departures, with a total freight value of 997 million yuan, up 70% and 107%, respectively. It won the honor of a national base for foreign trade transformation and upgrading (motorcycles and parts) issued by the Ministry of Commerce.
Effective investment continues expanding
Banan has focused on weak link improvement, expedited key project construction, continued investment environment optimization, and fully leveraged the key role of investment, thus achieving a fixed asset investment of 29.94 billion yuan, growing by 3.8%. Among them, the investment in infrastructure amounted to 6.06 billion yuan, a surge of 160%, and that in industry totaled 3.97 billion yuan, a rise of 34.4%, accounting for 13.3% of the total investment. The average growth rate reached 41.9% in the past two years, 37 percentage points higher than Chongqing's total. The 205 key projects of people's livelihood achieved an investment of about 21.8 billion yuan, accounting for 61% of the annual planned investment of 35.7 billion yuan. With the improvement in quality and efficiency for investment attraction, the district signed contracts for 59 projects, with 44.93 billion yuan, of which 10.7 billion yuan has been in place, up 55%, 76%, and 162%, respectively.
Bovex Biopharm in Ba'nan District (photo/ Ba'nan Publicity Department )
The confidence in the market enhanced
Banan established Chongqing's first park-based government service sub-center at Chongqing Highway Logistics Base and became the first to set up 112 micro government service points. There were 9,046 new market entities, with an increase of 9.87%. The general public budget revenue of Banan totaled 3.17 billion yuan, growing by 17.2%, 1.9 percentage points higher than the average of Chongqing. Besides, the average growth rate reached 8.8% in the two years, 7.6 percentage points higher than the city's average. The local tax revenue expanded by 9.7% to 2.39 billion yuan. Under the district's administration, the area's tax revenue amounted to 6.37 billion yuan, up 16.5%. The land listed for sales covered about 77.8 hectares, with a total value of about 2.97 billion yuan. Banan's deposit balance in renminbi totaled 116.06 billion yuan, up 10.6%. The growth rate was 2.9 percentage points higher than Chongqing's average, ranking 3rd in the city's central urban area. The district's balance of outstanding loans reached 101.35 billion yuan, a rise of 10.4%. The balance exceeded 100 billion yuan for the first time. The per capita disposable income of urban residents reached 26,633 yuan, increasing by 12.1%. The growth rate ranked 5th in the central urban area and 6th in the main metropolitan area. Rural residents' per capita disposable income was 14,569 yuan, up 14.2%, ranking 4th in the central urban area and 5th in the main metropolitan area.
In the second half of this year, Banan will vigorously develop emerging industries, speed up the construction of biomedical projects, and help industries like information technology and healthcare become larger and stronger. It is slated to raise the capability level of traditional enterprises like Chongqing Dajiang Industry Co., Ltd., Chongqing Zongshen Power Machinery Co., Ltd., and Chongqing Lingyao Automobile Co., Ltd. In addition, the district will accelerate the concentrated development of e-commerce and strive for the healthy development of the professional market. It plans to advance the upgrading of core business districts and develop characteristic business streets. More effort will be put into the convention and exhibition economy. Additionally, the district will continuously build the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem around the Chongqing University of Technology and construct Chongqing International Institute for Immunology, actively participate in the construction of the National Digital Economy Innovation and Development Pilot Zone in Chongqing, and continuously advance the full coverage of industrial enterprises and research and development institutions above the designated size. It will also strictly implement the Chain Chief System of the industrial chain and systematically attract investment for the industrial chain. Moreover, Banan is slated to strengthen the coordination and advancement of key social capital projects, expedite the construction of key projects at the municipal and district levels, and accelerate the implementation of new infrastructure projects. It will adhere to the policy that houses are for living in, not for speculation, actively advance land-use right transference, facilitate healthy development of the real estate industry, and meet people's multilevel housing needs. It will also standardize the construction of indemnification housing, fully implement preferential policies for enterprises, keep carrying out large-scale investigations and visits, and improve the effectiveness of service enterprises. The district will further reforms to "streamline administration and delegate power, improve regulation, and upgrade services" and optimize the business environment continuously.