China unveils plan to set up a financial center in Chengdu-Chongqing area

According to the plan, it will expand trials of cross-border financial blockchain service platforms. And it will study more application scenarios on the blockchain service platforms, which will improve financial services for small and medium-sized enterprises and support the construction of new international land-sea trade corridor.

More efforts will also be made to study and establish the capital exchanges mechanism with Japan and Singapore and promote the application of fintech in fields such as artificial intelligence, big data, cloud computing and blockchain.

The new plan came after China issued detailed guideline in October to promote the coordinated development of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, as it aims to create a new economic growth zone in the western China region.

The new guideline, released by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, calls for building the Chengdu-Chongqing area into an important economic center, a hub for scientific and technological innovation, a new highland for reform and opening-up and a livable place for high-quality life of national influence.

Earlier in September, the National Development and Reform Commission, China's top economic regulator, unveiled a plan to promote the high-quality development of the new western land-sea corridor during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25).

The plan aims to build an economical, efficient, convenient, green, and safe land-sea corridor for the western region by 2025.

By then, the operation of the three major routes connecting Chengdu in Sichuan province, the Chongqing municipality, and Beibu Gulf port in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region will become more efficient with better transportation capacity and logistics services, playing a key role in driving the economic and industrial development along the routes.