Chongqing - What can a county in China's inland region do to build a 100 billion yuan industrial economy? Zhongxian County in Chongqing is betting on energy, food processing and advanced manufacturing as it maps out its next five-year development path, local officials said on August 24.
The landscape of Zhongxian County, Chongqing. (Photo/Zhongxian County)
Located in the Three Gorges Reservoir area along the Yangtze River, Zhongxian County aims to become a distinctive medium-sized city by 2030, supported by the development of specialized industrial clusters during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030), Xu Haibo, secretary of the CPC Zhongxian County Committee, said at a development briefing.
Zhongxian County aims to develop one 50-billion-yuan energy cluster, one 30-billion-yuan food and agricultural processing cluster, three industrial clusters worth 10 billion yuan each, and three high-growth industries.
By 2030, the county targets a gross domestic product and total industrial output value of 100 billion yuan (about 14.88 billion U.S. dollars).
Citrus processing will remain a major part of that blueprint. Zhongxian County, widely celebrated as China's "citrus city," has developed a supply chain covering seed cultivation, fruit production, and juice processing.
A citrus processing production line in Zhongxian County, Chongqing. (Photo/Zhongxian County)
Its annual orange juice processing capacity has reached 600,000 metric tons. During the next five years, the county plans to build the Chongqing (Zhongxian County) Modern Agricultural Citrus Industrial Park and raise annual capacity to 800,000 tons, supporting its planned 30-billion-yuan food and agricultural processing cluster.
A citrus orchard sits in the Three Gorges Reservoir area. (Photo/Zhongxian County)
Energy is another priority. Zhongxian County has established southwest China's largest liquefied natural gas processing base, while the Wanshunchang gas storage facility and a shale oil production base with an annual capacity of 500,000 tons are under development.
The first shale oil well at Fuxing Oilfield in Zhongxian County, Chongqing, with daily output exceeding 200 tonnes. (Photo/Zhongxian County)
The county also plans to support expansion by 12 lithium battery material companies as it works toward a 50-billion-yuan energy industrial cluster.
Zhongxian County is also planning significant urban expansion, targeting an urban area of 40 square kilometers and a population of 400,000 by 2030.
Urban development will include renewing older neighborhoods, expanding new districts around high-speed rail and industrial areas, and building "15-minute high-quality living circles," a Chinese urban planning concept that aims to give residents access to essential services within a short walk or commute.
The county also plans to use its 88-kilometer Yangtze River shoreline to develop waterfront walkways and viewing areas while continuing ecological conservation.
Transport projects are expected to support greater regional connectivity. Zhongxian County plans to accelerate construction of the Chongqing-Wanzhou high-speed railway and expand Xinsheng Port.
Officials said the projects will support a modern multimodal transport system and strengthen the county's links with the broader Three Gorges region, northeastern Chongqing, and northeastern Sichuan, and will further integrate more closely with the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a logistics network connecting western China with southern ports and overseas markets, as part of its effort to expand external trade and regional cooperation.