Chengdu to cooperate with Chongqing to cultivate world-class industrial clusters

The production line of digital services provider New H3C Group in Chengdu Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, will vigorously promote the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, and cooperate with Chongqing to develop world-class industrial clusters, said Luo Qiang, mayor of Chengdu.

Luo made the remarks in the government work report delivered at the third session of the 17th people's congress of Chengdu, which opens on Thursday.

The Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle is a new program launched by the central government in January, which will help create a hub for high-quality development in western China and increase economic opening-up in the landlocked area.

The Chengdu-Chongqing region, with Chengdu and Chongqing at its core, has a population of more than 100 million and a total economic volume of nearly 7 trillion yuan ($986.32 billion).

"Chengdu and Chongqing will jointly promote the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing middle line high-speed railway, cultivate world-class industrial clusters in sectors such as electronic information and automobiles, and promote the implementation of major tasks such as the construction of a land-sea corridor in western region and a western China science city," Luo said.

The Chengdu-Chongqing middle line high-speed railway, scheduled to start construction this year, will shorten the distance between Chengdu and Chongqing to 280 kilometers when completed, with the journey set to take just 50 minutes.

A technician performs an experiment at a lab operated by HitGen, a Chengdu-based pharmaceutical company. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Luo said the two cities will jointly strive for the introduction of national construction outlines and a series of special plans for the development of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle. They will also seek to win the support of the central government in the construction of international scientific and technological innovation platforms and railway corridors, as well as industrial development projects.

He said Chengdu will also cooperate with nearby cities in the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle such as Deyang, Ziyang and Meishan to construct industrial development belts, and explore mechanisms for integrated regional planning and development.

"This year, Chengdu will accelerate the construction of a modern economic system," Luo said, adding that the city's electronic information industry is expected to be worth 1 trillion yuan this year, while the equipment manufacturing industry is set to reach 800 billion yuan and the medical and health industry set to reach 500 billion yuan.

Luo said Chengdu will also accelerate the development of the new economy, which includes blockchain, 5G, 8K, and artificial intelligence technologies, to foster new economic drivers.

The GDP of Chengdu reached 1.7 trillion yuan in 2019, increasing 7.8 percent year-on-year, the city's government work report said. The total income of its five major industries, including electronic information, equipment manufacturing, medicine and health, new materials, and green foods, exceeded 2 trillion yuan.