Chongqing - Chongqing's service industry grew by 5.8% in the first half of 2024, totaling 856.6 billion yuan (about USD 119.7 billion), according to a press conference on August 14. This growth rate, 1.2 percentage points above the national average, matches the top rate in Shanghai and Sichuan.

A hot pot restaurant has opened inside a stunning karst cave in Chongqing. (Photo/Chongqing Daily)

Chongqing's service sector has thrived, with productive services seeing significant growth: leasing and business services increased by 10.8%, information transmission, software, and IT services increased by 10.0%, and transportation, warehousing, and postal services increased by 8.2%.

The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) significantly boosted shipments to 120,000 TEUs, a 54% increase from last year. The value of these goods reached 23.2 billion yuan, up 89%, highlighting the growing global presence of "Made in Chongqing" products.

Zhu Jiang, deputy director of the Chongqing Municipal Development and Reform Commission, said that in July, Chongqing released an action plan to boost the high-quality development of modern productive services.

The action plan sets ambitious goals for Chongqing, targeting five key industrial clusters. By 2027, it aims to make Chongqing a global design hub by establishing 15 national and over 250 municipal industrial design centers.

Another key area is the financial industry cluster, aiming to build a comprehensive financial hub in Western China with a national consumer finance center, private equity fund hub, and digital and trade finance advancements. The goal is to reach 11 trillion yuan in financial assets and 380 billion yuan in added value by 2027.

Industry associations are crucial for enterprise growth and raising standards. Zhu stated, "We aim to attract top logistics firms to Chongqing and increase Grade A logistics companies from 91 to 111 by 2027."

In 2023, Chongqing's R&D investment grew by 10% to 75 billion yuan, with an increased intensity of 2.45%. Technology contract turnover surged 37.2% to 86.51 billion yuan. Chongqing ranked 8th nationally for science and technology innovation, the highest in Western China.

This success is supported by Chongqing's Liangjiang New Area, a central hub for advanced manufacturing with over 5,800 tech-focused enterprises, including nearly 1,000 high-tech firms.

Chongqing Liangjiang Collaborative Innovation Zone. (Photo/Wang Jiaxi)

Zhang Bin, deputy director of the Liangjiang New Area Administrative Committee, highlighted that the area boosts tech innovation through its national testing and certification public service platform. With over 90 organizations, it is setting industry standards.

Zhang announced plans to create an international maritime legal zone and leverage Liangjiang New Area’s strengths in industrial finance, low-carbon protection, data, and logistics to enhance policies and drive high-quality development in the productive service industry.