Chengdu to pursue new path for national development

Chengdu, the capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, will strive to build itself into an important economic center and create a new national development path, said Wang Fengchao, the city's mayor.

Wang made the remarks while delivering the government work report at the fifth session of the 17th people's congress of Chengdu, which opened on Feb 4.

Chengdu's regional GDP grew by 7.1 percent annually in the past five years to 1.77 trillion yuan ($273.71 billion) in 2020, ranking seventh among cities in the country.

Technicians at Tsinghua Tongfang work at the personal computer maker's plant in Chengdu's Shuangliu district. [Photo by Zhu Qingui / For China Daily]

The city will continue to strengthen its "5+5+1" modern industrial system in 2021. The system refers to five advanced manufacturing industries, including electronic information, equipment manufacturing and medicine and health; five emerging service industries, including financial services, modern logistics and the exhibition economy, as well as the new economy.

"We will vigorously upgrade the level of the electronic information industry to build the city into a global high-end R&D and manufacturing base for electronic information and a world-famous software city," Wang said in the report.

The output value of Chengdu's electronic information industry reached 1.01 trillion yuan in 2020, making it the first industry in the city to exceed 1 trillion yuan.

Wang said the city would cultivate its equipment manufacturing industry into another industrial cluster with a total output value exceeding 1 trillion yuan. Significant efforts include developing high-end new energy passenger vehicles, striving to become a national demonstration city for fuel cell vehicles, and promoting the construction of an embedded maglev test line.

A fixed-wing UAV independently developed by Sichuan Tengden Technology Co Ltd, a high-tech enterprise based in Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. [Photo provided to China Daily]

To create a new engine for economic development, Chengdu will enthusiastically develop the new economy. The city will build more than 20,000 5G base stations in 2021 and focus on developing new industries, including blockchain, quantum information and sectors related to the Beidou Navigation Satellite System, according to the report.

The report also mentioned that the city would strengthen its innovation capability by promoting the planning and construction of major scientific and technological infrastructure, cross-research platforms and scientific and technological innovation bases. The goal is to transform Chengdu into a comprehensive national science center.

Chengdu will also accelerate its pace of opening up. It will put the Chengdu Tianfu International Airport, the city's second international airport, into operation and promote the construction of a land-sea corridor that links it to Asia and Europe.