Chengdu plans to seize strategic opportunities over next five years

Chengdu, a mega-city in west China, is further opening-up to domestic and foreign investors with special government departments set up to improve the planning and building of international industrial parks in the city.

The decision was made at the sixth plenary session of the 12th Municipal Party Committee last December, when a key document on the drafting of the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) for the city was approved.

The municipal leadership vowed at the meeting to further the internationalization of the city to establish Chengdu as a major hub for China's westward opening-up.

Analysts said that as China implements its Belt and Road Initiative over the next few years and Chengdu pushes forward its opening-up policy, the city will establish itself as an international hub in the region and play a larger role in the global industrial system.

To that end, Chengdu is advancing its economic development blueprint, upgrading its transportation and logistics network, and hosting high-profile investment fairs to promote its image among potential foreign investors.

Chengdu also plans to further cooperate with major cities in neighboring provinces, such as Chongqing, Xi'an, Kunming and Guiyang - all key western cities - to form a regional economic growth engine that will not only benefit from the Belt and Road Initiative but also become a dynamic driver of it.

"The Belt and Road Initiative and the Yangtze River Economic Belt programs bring major strategic opportunities for Chengdu," said Yan Xing, deputy head of Chengdu Federation of Social Sciences Circle. "The five-city economic circle plan will further bring out the role of Chengdu as a major pillar supporting China's coordinated regional development."

Transportation network

Chengdu's mature transportation network is a strong supporting factor for its investor-attracting initiatives. It has 85 international air routes, with five direct flight routes to Europe.

The city is also accelerating the construction of a new airport - Chengdu Tianfu International Airport.

Moreover, the city is preparing to open more international flights to connect it with Europe, Asia, North America, Oceania and Africa to build a close international flight network to make it an ideal transit hub for global travelers.

Chengdu boasts a convenient railway network. It opened the Chengdu-Europe Express Railway to allow China's IT products, apparel and equipment to be freighted to Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus and Poland. At the end of August, return trains were launched so that European products can be exported to China via Chengdu. So far this year, the railway has freighted goods with a total value of $700 million.

Chengdu has put forward the idea of "Chengdu-Europe Plus", meaning the railway will be connected to more domestic and European cities.

In September, Chengdu's Western Railway Logistics Center was renamed Chengdu International Railway Port. Chengdu plans to build it into the largest international railway port in China. Meanwhile, the city will make the operation of the Chengdu-Europe Express Railway more market-oriented to make it the most stable, efficient and competitive line connecting China and Europe.

To promote its international accessibility, Chengdu has hosted international investment fairs to promote the city.

In November 2015, it held the 10th annual China-EU Investment, Trade and Sci-tech Cooperation Fair, which has become an important expo for Chinese and European enterprises to conduct business exchanges and serves as a major platform for cooperation between China's western regions and Europe.

Altogether more than 100 senior European Union officials have participated in the expo over the past 10 years and 1,465 deals have been signed. Moreover, the Western China International Fair will be held in Chengdu this year.

liyu@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily European Weekly 01/01/2016 page16)