Chongqing - "In recent years, we have exported methyl methacrylate (MMA) to India worth 170 million yuan (about USD 23.9 million), and our chemical products have been well-received in India, Brazil, and the United Arab Emirates," said a representative from Chongqing Yixiang Chemical Co., Ltd. on October 31.
Chongqing Yixiang Chemical, a subsidiary of Jiangsu Shuangxiang Group Co., Ltd., is located in the Changshou Economic and Technological Development Zone, one of seven national development zones in Chongqing. Phase one, which began in 2019, involved a 4.5 billion yuan investment. After phase two, the company aims to lead national production capacity.
Changshou Economic and Technological Development Zone. (Photo/Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce)
This year marks the 40th anniversary of China’s first national economic development zones, and Chongqing's three major zones are showing impressive growth. According to the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce, the Changshou and Chongqing (Nan'an) Economic and Technological Development Zones ranked among the top five in the western region in the 2023 assessment of China's 230 national zones, with the Wanzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone climbing in rank for the second consecutive year.
In 2023, the three economic development zones collectively generated 24.2 billion yuan (about 3.4 billion USD) in foreign trade, accounting for 96% to 99.5% of their regions' total trade, and attracted 71 million USD in foreign investment.
“We follow the '33618' modern manufacturing cluster system and have implemented a 'chain leader + key players + backbone enterprises + support' framework,” stated an official from the Changshou Economic and Technological Development Zone. "To support this, we established a specialized investment promotion team, focusing on enterprises in energy-storage materials, new energy equipment, synthetic biology, aerogel, and productive services."
From 2018 to 2023, Changshou attracted six companies, including Jiangsu Shuangxiang Group, Calysseo, and Zhongrun New Materials, to sign agreements for the MDI (methylene diphenyl diisocyanate) integration project site, with investments exceeding 10 billion yuan. This initiative has boosted capacity across upstream enterprises such as Linde Industrial Gases and Chongqing Kopper Chemical Industry Corp., Ltd, generating an estimated 10 billion yuan in annual output.
Additionally, the Changshou zone successfully facilitated the 500,000-ton MDI integration expansion project with BASF, establishing nearly 30 upstream and downstream companies around the MDI industry, collectively achieving a production capacity of 50 billion yuan.
Besides, the Chongqing Economic and Technological Development Zone, the first national development zone in western China, is advancing open economic functions. Major achievements include Singapore's Perennial International Medical Complex project, which involved a total investment of 3 billion yuan. Additionally, projects like the Chongqing Cross-Border Trade and ASEAN Commodity Bulk Trade have propelled total foreign trade to 3.6 billion yuan.
Chongqing Economic and Technological Development Zone. (Photo/Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce)
The Wanzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone, in turn, has achieved significant milestones. From January to August 2024, the zone generated 3.6 billion yuan in foreign trade, representing 96.7% of the total trade in Wanzhou District. With the signing of seven new projects valued at 480 million yuan, the zone is on a path of continuous expansion.
Wanzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone. (Photo/Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce)
With a drive for new quality productive forces growth, Chongqing's development zones are capitalizing on digital and green industrial advancements, focusing on leading industries such as intelligent terminals, software, healthcare, automotive electronics, and environmental protection.
Chongqing Economic and Technological Development Zone has achieved milestones, such as establishing China's first intelligent networked automotive electronic architecture pilot base and dominating the market in integrated digital-analog chips and detectors.
In a further significant breakthrough, the Wanzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone has launched a project with an annual production capacity of 80 tons of gallium metal. Once completed, this initiative will position Wanzhou as the world's largest single-site gallium metal producer.