Chongqing- Business districts play a fundamental role in building international consumption centers in China. Chongqing Municipality in the southwestern region is speeding up the transformation and upgrading of business districts to create landmark business areas with global influence. 

Statistics from the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce show that the average daily flow of people in the Daping business district in Yuzhong District reached 300,000 during the May Day Holiday, as the Time Paradise Walk, one of the popular business areas in Chongqing, contributes to the majority which was ranked second among the top ten shopping centers in the national passenger flow index. 

The rise of Time Paradise Walk is the epitome of Chongqing’s efforts in business areas creation. This area was an ordinary traffic channel for selling digital and low-end clothing products ten years ago. After establishing a famous business district, the commercial pattern was opened with a commercial area of 600,000 square meters, which contained strong consumption power.

In recent years, Chongqing has supported experiential commerce, high-end commerce, headquarters finance, cultural creativity, and other industries in key business areas for developing sports, fashion, leisure, and different business patterns. 

Policy assistance

In July 2021, China approved five cities, including Chongqing, to take the lead in cultivating and building international consumption centers, bringing new opportunities for the construction of Chongqing’s business districts.

The implementation plan for cultivating and building an international consumption center issued by the Chongqing government proposes building two world-class business districts, ten high-quality business districts, 100 characteristic famous streets and towns, and a number of integration development clusters with business and culture, tourism, and sports. 

These two world-class business districts are the most popular and active in Chongqing's consumption field, consisting of the Jiefangbei central business district and the Guanyinqiao business district. 

According to the plan, Yuzhong District will build the Jiefangbei-Chaotianmen business district into a headquarters economic gathering place, an international consumption destination, a Bashu cultural experience place, as a carrier of foreign exchanges with a high sense of global identity and local belonging. It aims to bring together 500 internationally renowned brands and total retail sales of social consumer goods to exceed 100 billion yuan by 2025.

Guanyinqiao business district will continue to promote the integrated development of business, tourism, and culture, making the commercial and economic foundation more stable and adding a solid background for building a world-famous business district. By 2035, it will expand to 6.8 square kilometers and become the core window of an international consumption center with global influence and an internationally renowned business district. 

First store economy

Besides developing the business circle, Chongqing also pays attention to the first store economy.

Zhou Yuanzheng, a financial analyst, said that Chongqing would play an unexpected role in accelerating the gathering of high-quality tourism consumption resources and enhancing consumers' attraction at home and abroad by developing the first store economy. "I believe that after more first stores entered, Chongqing, a city with strong industrial characteristics, will become more commercial and even more international," he said. 

Data show that Chongqing introduced 203 first stores in 2021, with a year-on-year increase of 20%, including 12 first stores nationwide and 16 first stores in Southwest China.

Zhou suggested that Chongqing should highlight key points and breakthroughs to form unique advantages in the first store economy. The combination of standardization and flexibility will make Chongqing a fantastic and inclusive international consumption center city.

In addition to introducing the European and American brands, Chongqing can also combine the development of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor to explore some Southeast Asian brands deeply, making it an important starting point for strengthening the economic ties between Chongqing and Southeast Asia. 

(Wang Lu, as an intern, also contributed to this report.)