Chongqing- To become an international consumption center city, it is necessary to form a global cluster and a regional linkage development center that appeals to local and foreign consumers, addressed Wang Wentao, Minister of Commerce, during his field trip in Chongqing on February 26. 

The meeting about promoting Chongqing into an international consumption center was held the following day, calling for Chongqing's high-level advanced construction.

However, there are certain obstacles to cross-regional travel due to the COVID-19 epidemic. What can Chongqing in southwestern China do to attract more foreign consumers in this context? Chongqing's local features, first stores, import and export, are three essential factors addressed Wang. 

Local features 

After field trips in Chongqing, Wang pointed out that the overall planning should be made based on retaining Chongqing's characteristics in fostering the international consumption center's construction. 

Chongqing is built on the mountains and close to the rivers with unique topography and landforms. It is also known as "8D magic city" on social media. 

Chongqing has a long history and rich cultural heritage, which are valuable resources to build an international consumer center, said Wang. 

The national strategy pointed out that Chongqing should implement special consumption improvement services. For example, build an international consumption destination with Bashu culture in the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle based on the Bashu Cultural Tourism Corridor. 

First stores 

Today, the first store, first brand, first show are becoming increasingly commonplace to attract people to the large shopping malls. 

Chongqing strives to build the first choice for international brands, encompassing the introduction of flagship stores, well-known brands, and global brand debut and shows. 

For example, Jiefangbei and Chaotianmen, the urban core at the heart of Chongqing, is working hard to build a world-famous business district. By 2025,  a total of 500 internationally renowned brands will be brought together and achieve the total retail sales of consumer goods exceeding 100 billion yuan, according to the Yuzhong District Committee.

Taking Jiangbei District as another example, in 2021, Jiangbei brought 80 first stores in Chongqing, like Ami, Golden Goose, Audi new energy vehicles, etc. And Chongqing saw a total of 203 first stores incorporated last year, becoming one of the crucial initiatives to cultivate an international consumption center. 

Import and export 

To highlight internationalization, Chongqing has to expand its import and export, said Wang. 

In 2021, Chongqing's export value of notebook computers and fuel motorcycles was ranked first in the country. Also, Chongqing saw a gradual increase in agriculture products' export volume, like lemons, citrus, and mustard.

In imports, Chongqing's cross-border e-commerce achieved a transaction volume of 24.44 billion yuan in the first 11 months of 2021, a year-on-year increase of 34.8%, covering a variety of categories. 

The national strategy clearly states that Chongqing will build a global consumer goods supermarket to enrich the consumption experience of local citizens and attract more foreigners to Chongqing for consumption. 

Specifically, Chongqing should speed up the layout of the imported goods distribution center, the bonded commodity display, and the trading center. And building cross-border e-commerce intelligent cargo distribution centers is also significant, relying on special customs supervision zones. 

What's more, Chongqing's logistics corridor is actively playing a role in building Chongqing into a world consumer goods supermarket. 

For instance, Yuzhong District will build a bonded exhibition and trading center in the World Financial Center located in the Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street, the center of Chongqing. 

To date, Chongqing has introduced product pavilions from the UK, Thailand, New Zealand, Belarus, and other countries, allowing more consumers to purchase particular products from all over the world in Chongqing.