Chongqing - Chongqing signed 56 major investment projects worth 154.9 billion yuan (about 22.82 billion U.S. dollars) at a financial conference on July 3, as the southwestern Chinese municipality stepped up efforts to attract more funding for advanced manufacturing, technological innovation, and industrial upgrading.
The Conference on Financial Support for High-Quality Development in Chongqing is held on July 3, 2026. (Photo/Zheng Ran)
The Conference on Financial Support for High-Quality Development in Chongqing was held in Yuzhong District, bringing together national financial and investment institutions, industry leaders and technology companies. The event included investment promotion, project signing, industrial financing sessions, technology commercialization matchmaking, regional roadshows and project presentations.
A project signing ceremony is held during the conference on July 3, 2026. (Photo/Zheng Ran)
The conference also reflected Chongqing's effort to link finance more closely with its manufacturing base. In 2025, Chongqing produced 2.788 million vehicles, up 9.7%, returning to the top position among Chinese cities in auto output after nine years. Its new energy vehicle output reached 1.296 million units, 30 times the level of 2020.
"AI and the auto industry are now resonating at the same frequency, and the development of 'AI plus vehicles' has reached a key turning point," said Yin Qi, chairman of Chongqing Afari Technology. He said the sector will require deeper integration of the innovation chain, industrial chain, capital chain and talent chain to build a healthy industrial ecosystem.
Yin Qi, chairman of Chongqing Afari Technology, speaks at the conference on July 3, 2026. (Photo/Zheng Ran)
Afari Technology, a Chongqing-based intelligent vehicle company, recorded 9.999 billion yuan in revenue in 2025 and has made "AI plus vehicle" its core strategy. Yin said the company will continue to strengthen the role of "AI plus" as a core engine and share opportunities from Chongqing's push to build itself into a hub for intelligent connected new energy vehicles.
Li Liang, founding partner of Hillhouse Investment, said China is becoming one of the world's most important testing grounds for the application of frontier technologies. He said Chongqing, supported by its "33618" modern manufacturing system, has the conditions to become an important hub for artificial intelligence applications and industrial upgrading.
"In the future, we will combine Chongqing's industrial advantages and development direction, continue to strengthen the discovery of quality projects and investment deployment, and support Chongqing's high-quality development," said Zhou Kui, partner at Sequoia Capital.
By the end of 2025, Chongqing's medium- and long-term manufacturing loan balance exceeded 276.2 billion yuan, doubling from the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan period. Since the start of that period, the number of high-tech and startup companies invested in by local equity and venture capital institutions rose from 373 to 607, with cumulative investment reaching 310.66 billion yuan by the end of 2025.
Several speakers said financial institutions are shifting from capital providers to deeper industrial partners. Xu Siwei, chairman of China Reform Holdings Corporation, said the company should serve as a gatherer of innovation capital, a builder of bridges among factors such as capital, technology and talent, and a promoter of cooperation between central state-owned enterprises and Chongqing.
Chen Liang, chairman of China International Capital Corporation (CICC), said Chongqing has a strong industrial base and concentrated innovation resources. He said CICC will continue to put more high-quality resources into Chongqing, including support for local companies expanding into global markets, international industrial cooperation, sci-tech bonds, carbon-neutral bonds and public REITs.