Chongqing—The recently released Chongqing Cross-Border Financial Development Report highlights the city's growth in cross-border finance. For 2024, 393.5 billion yuan (about 54.46 billion yuan) was settled in cross-border RMB, reflecting a 37% year-on-year increase, 15 percentage points higher than the national average.
Chongqing Jiangbeizui Central Business District. (Photo/Jiangbei District)
In 2024, Chongqing introduced an action plan to drive the high-quality development of building the Western Financial Center. By 2025, the city's financial sector is projected to contribute 300 billion RMB (about 41.4 billion USD) to the economy, representing 9% of the city's GDP.
In 2023, Chongqing's financial added value reached 259.1 billion RMB, representing 8.6% of the city's GDP. In the first half of 2024, the number was 142 billion RMB, representing 9.4% of the city's GDP. The 9% of 2025 goal shows the government's practical attitude towards financial sector growth.
Chen Yinhua, president of the Western Financial Center Research Institute, said that by March 2025, Chongqing's pilot cross-border financing programs had supported technology-based enterprises with 96.77 million USD in financing.
Additionally, 350 high-quality enterprises have seen over 110 billion U.S. USD in trade settlements, and cross-border financing has surpassed 20 billion U.S. dollars.
"Chongqing has a strong capacity for innovation in cross-border finance," said Chen, president of the Western Financial Center Research Institute, "in recent years, the city has launched several groundbreaking initiatives, including the first multimodal transportation digital bill of lading movable pledge financing business in China, the country's first railway bill of lading pledge financing business, and the issue of the world's first International Letter of Credit for Rail Bill of Lading."
Furthermore, Chongqing has tapped into the potential of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) to drive economic growth, utilizing platforms like the China-Singapore (Chongqing) Strategic Connectivity Demonstration Project, the China (Chongqing) Pilot Free Trade Zone, and Chongqing-Hong Kong Financial Cooperation to boost financial collaboration and cement its role as a key regional economic hub. The report revealed that by the end of 2024, financing in ILSTC-related areas had exceeded 600 billion yuan.
Chen outlined five directions for future growth, including enhancing railway transport financial services through standardized multimodal documents, promoting cross-border two-way financing by supporting local enterprises to raise funds internationally, and exploring overseas direct foreign exchange purchases to reduce costs for import enterprises.
Guan Tao, global chief economist at BOCI Securities, highlights challenges facing China's cross-border finance as global economic shifts continue. He noted the impact of the U.S.'s "reciprocal tariff" policy on China's trade and market confidence and called for proactive fiscal policies and moderate monetary easing to counter external pressures.
Guan also proposed four strategies for China's financial sector: shifting enterprises to quality-focused growth, strengthening exchange rate risk management with export credit insurance, expanding financial services in ASEAN, Africa, and Latin America, and encouraging the use of non-US dollar currencies to diversify risks and enhance economic resilience.