Chongqing- As the COVID-19 is gradually brought under control and it is believed that global manufacturing will return to China, the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle should seize this opportunity to achieve greater development, Koji Nagai, Chairman of Nomura Holdings Co., Ltd., mentioned in a written interview on Thursday.

With a solid economic foundation and low operating costs, as well as the geographical advantage of connecting Asia, Europe, and the Pacific, the economic circle should seize the opportunity to build a world-class modern manufacturing industry cluster, and Chongqing is promising.

Koji Nagai, who has participated in the annual meeting of the Chongqing Mayor's International Economic Advisory Council (CMIA) for 16 consecutive years, expressed that he was honored to be a member of the CMIA and witness the development and prosperity of Chongqing in recent years.

"In the process of building a world-class modern manufacturing industrial cluster, the priority is to solve the homogenization of the industries in the two localities, following the investment of research and development lowering than other regions in China and the low added value of the industry," noted the chairman.

According to his analysis, Chongqing now has the advantage of a relatively complete and solid industrial foundation after years of development and optimization. The city is home to a lot of traditional advantageous industries. It has a long history of agriculture as one of China's main grain-producing areas, and it also stands out in food and beverage. Moreover, it has a solid foundation in the industry, as its industrial system dominated by automobile and motorcycle production has strong competitive advantages.

Chongqing is accelerating industrial development through the agglomeration effect of government-industry funds and the reform of financial service products. Chongqing has the capacity to speed up the introduction of major foreign projects and leading companies, promote the large-scale development of industry, agglomerate resources on a global scale, lead the industrial chain through top companies and major projects, shift the value chain towards the high end, and create a world-class electronic information industrial cluster.

"I am very happy to see that Chongqing is presently investing considerable practical effort into the creation of a world-class business environment, including optimization of the market conditions, smoother access, orderly regulation, full implementation of the negative list system for market access, and optimization of the legal environment," noted Koji Nagai.

In order to strengthen exchange and cooperation between Chongqing and the world's top 500 multinational companies, he suggested Chongqing should not only radiate influence across the region as a platform for economic and trade resources, but it also needs to accelerate financial innovation, especially to promote vitality and the flow of funds within the pilot free trade zone, which will enhance the city's attractiveness to foreign capital.