People’s Daily Focus: New Progress Made in the Construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing Twin-Hub Mega-Region

At Chongqing Tuanjiecun Logistics Center and Chengdu International Inland Port, China-Europe Rail Express (Chengdu and Chongqing) departed. The industries in these areas complement each other, creating a mutually beneficial relationship. It symbolizes the interconnectedness and synergy between these two ports and their associated industries. Since its opening, the Railway Express has had an annual operating volume of around 5,000 trains. In Bishan, Chongqing, the advanced data center of the Western China (Chongqing) Science City provides cloud services and data intelligence as its core business, offering computing power support to Sichuan, Chongqing, and eastern regions. In Mingyue Mountain, forest rangers from Dazhu County in Sichuan and Liangping District in Chongqing jointly patrol the mountains, safeguarding the mountains and waters of the Chongqing-Sichuan region.

As you step inside Zhiguan Technology Co., Ltd., located in Chongqing Liangjiang New Area, you will witness eight adhesive film cutting lines working at full capacity. Adhesive films move swiftly on automated instruments and undergo a series of intricate procedures to transform into adhesive tape products with varying lengths and shapes. A few hours later, these products will be delivered to electronic companies’ production lines in Mianyang, Sichuan, for further processing.

As the joint construction of a trillion-yuan electronic information industry cluster in the two places accelerates its pace, businesses are presented with even greater opportunities.

Recently, at an industry exchange event organized by government departments in Sichuan and Chongqing, Zhiguan Technology made contact with a Chengdu-based enterprise specializing in in-car displays. According to Zhao Shihong, the Executive Deputy General Manager of Zhiguan Technology, “This year’s market is good, and we have more partners in Sichuan, so sales are no longer a concern.” Nowadays, Zhiguan Technology and its partners in Sichuan are gradually establishing a whole industry chain support system in the Sichuan and Chongqing region.

Located in the inland regions, how can Sichuan and Chongqing seize development opportunities and promote industrial transformation and upgrading? The answer lies in abandoning homogeneous competition and moving towards integrated development.

At present, the construction of the electronic information manufacturing industry cluster in the Chengdu-Chongqing region and six other key tasks, including the backup of critical processes, have been included in the list of key tasks for the 2023 annual cooperation agreement between relevant ministries and provinces (municipalities). The two places have selected 15 parks, including Zigong High-Tech Industrial Development Zone and Changshou Economic and Technological Development Area, as the second batch of industrial cooperation demonstration parks for the Twin-Hub Mega-Region.

The construction of coordinated development platforms continues to advance. Efforts to construct collaborative development platforms are being accelerated in the two places, with a focus on creating a high-quality platform for the Sichuan-Chongqing equipment manufacturing industry. Additionally, the establishment of the Smart Power Distribution Equipment Manufacturing Alliance of the Twin-Hub Mega-Region is being promoted. Furthermore, the two places are collaborating to develop the digital economy by building data center clusters, such as the Tianfu Data Center and several city-based data centers. Two places have jointly released a list of opportunities for the digital empowerment of advanced manufacturing cities and established the Public Service Platform for Enterprises in the Digital Economy of Chengdu and Chongqing.

As the night falls, the Jiefangbei Pedestrian Street in Chongqing is bustling with people, and the same scene can be seen at the Chunxi Road in Chengdu, which is experiencing a surge in foot traffic. The “Chengdu-Chongqing Twin-City Consumption Festival” and the 2023 “Love Chongqing: New Consumption Season” have been successfully organized, and the ongoing construction of the Bashu Cultural Tourism Corridor in the region is accelerating. These measures have further expanded the high-quality consumption in the two places. From January to May, the total retail sales of consumer goods in Sichuan and Chongqing reached RMB1.6 trillion.

The level of openness continues to improve. From January to May, the China-Europe Railway Express (Chengdu-Chongqing) operated 2,319 trains, an increase of 52% compared to the same period last year. Airlines in the two cities have opened and increased the frequency of all-cargo flights. A plan has been formulated to deepen the reform and innovation of the coordinated opening-up demonstration zone of Sichuan and Chongqing FTZs. As of the end of May, the plan had supported enterprises from Chengdu and Chongqing to participate in the pilot registration of one-time external debts, with a total amount of USD21.45 billion.

Standardization and facilitation of basic public services are being continuously promoted. In the areas of employment, social security, and talent, the two places have jointly identified 32 pilot projects for regional standardization cooperation. Two places have also standardized 30 elements of these pilot projects, which has resulted in standardized handling procedures. The Sichuan-Chongqing Joint Public Affairs System now covers 311 items, including key areas of people’s livelihood such as transportation, communication, change of household registration, taxation, employment, and social security.