By Xinyi Li, EDITOR

During the visit to Chongqing, President Xi Jinping proposed that Chongqing focus on regional development from an overall perspective, and offer regional services for the whole. It should strive to play three roles, namely, the supporting role in advancing the Western Development Strategy in the new era, the leading role in promoting the joint development of the “Belt and Road” Initiative (BRI), and the demonstration role in boosting the green development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Three key officers in Chongqing gave a detailed explanation of the topic.

How should Chongqing give full play to the three roles?

As an important strategic pillar of the Western Development Strategy and a junction to integrate the “Belt and Road” with the Yangtze River Economic Belt, Chongqing plays a unique and key role in China’s regional development and opening-up pattern. It acts as a bridge between the east and the west, enjoying significant advantages in the opening-up westwards and southwards, as well as in ecological environment, industries, and systems. Therefore, the “three roles” reflect not only the urgent requirement for the growth of Chongqing but also the significant responsibility for China’s development. Xiong Xue, Director of Chongqing Municipal Development and Reform Commission explained to local media. 

Han Baochang, Director of China–Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative  on Strategic Connectivity Administrative Bureau said, our bureau, in the past three years, has attached great importance to the China–Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity (CCI), aiming to set a model for international cooperation of the “Belt and Road”, facilitate the opening-up of the whole western area and even farther, and make progress in a certain period.

Relying on the three-level cooperative mechanism of the CCI, Chongqing takes the lead in the BRI-led opening-up, to give full play to the role of Chongqing as the operating center. In this way, the CCI–New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) finally came out, advancing the normal operation of three main forms of logistics. By the end of this March, 900 trains have departed through the international rail-sea intermodal transport, reaching 166 ports in 71 countries worldwide, including Singapore. Meanwhile, we have also engaged in initiating and differentiating the reforms, to accelerate the signing of the cooperation agreement on co-building ILSTC by the governments of Chongqing, Guangxi, Guizhou, Gansu, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Yunnan, and Ningxia. Relevant provinces and autonomous regions have also signed the MOU on providing support in customs declaration and inspection, railways, and funds for the construction of ILSTC. Moreover, related provinces and autonomous regions, together with Singapore’s logistics enterprises, have jointly established platforms and companies. The promotion mechanism of “1+3+1” has come into being at the levels of provincial governments, departments, and enterprises, thus enhancing the leading role in the western area.

We are committed to the replication and popularization of China-Singapore cross-border financing modes, with remarkable achievements made for the development of enterprises in the western area. By the end of this April, the enterprises in Sichuan, Shaanxi, Qinghai, Yunnan, Guangxi, and Xinjiang have completed over USD 3 billion of cross-border funding.

The near future will see the further integration between the CCI and the Western Development Strategy, and the development of the BRI and the Yangtze River Economic Belt. We are striving to play as a leader and an enabler in western opening-up, to give support for the national strategy of opening China further through links running eastward and westward, across land and overseas.

How should Chongqing give play to its leading role in the development of BRI?

Zhang Zhikui, Director of Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce shared his view. Chongqing has built a railway-highway-waterway-airway international logistics network and developed an open platform of “1+2+7+8” as well as a complete rail-road-water open port system. Thanks to the completion of corridors to foreign countries along the “Belt and Road”, Chongqing has realized the normal operation of rail-sea intermodal transport, international railway transport, and cross-border road transport. With the implementation of 822 cooperation projects with over 70 countries and regions along the “Belt and Road”, the bilateral investment has reached more than USD 26 billion.

Playing the leading role in promoting the joint development of the BRI, Chongqing aims to expand and enhance the trade exchange with the countries and regions along the “Belt and Road”, and improve the logistics and trade networks.

Chongqing is preparing the Plan of Deepening the Economic and Trade Cooperation of the BRI. The focus will be the research into the environment for investment, trade and cooperation in these countries and regions, and the guidance on the collaboration among key countries and industries. Additionally, the Commission of Commerce has made specific development goals with relevant approaches, to support the enterprises in Chongqing to expand their international markets. Based on the international logistics channels including China Railway Express (Chongqing) and ILSTC, we have further integrated cross-border logistics and resources. For one thing, this has facilitated the export of superior products in such fields as automobiles & motorcycles, general machinery, and medicines, and for another, a number of dominant imports have returned to Chongqing for distribution.

Xiong Xue said, besides logistics transportation and import & export trade, Chongqing will develop more “one-to-one” industries for the development of the BRI. For instance, Chongqing has established a cooperative mechanism of “1+2” together with German’s Mannheim. Depending on one forum and two industrial platforms, both parties will enhance their cooperation. One of the platforms is the Sino-Germany (Chongqing) Smart Industrial Park, Yongchuan District.

This park boasts four industrial clusters, including high-end numerically-controlled robots, intelligent vehicles and new-energy vehicles, intelligent medical device, and sensing & driving device and electronic information. It has become the model for Chongqing to engage in the development of the BRI and boost industrial development. I believe there will be a growing number of such cooperation projects.

Han Baochang expressed that the CCI bureau is advancing the construction of both national and international cooperative mechanisms for ILSTC in a steady and orderly way. With the expanding cooperation at home and abroad, Chongqing will take an active part in playing this leading role.

Furthermore, the bureau will also reinforce the role of Chongqing as a hub, to expand and strengthen the cooperative mechanisms. Eight provinces (autonomous regions/municipalities) will also play a large part. By convening the interprovincial joint meeting on co-building ILSTC and enhancing the coordination of exchange, we can seek for more partners in China, and develop the new pattern for collaborative development.

Last November witnessed the signing of the MOU on the Cooperation of ILSTC by the two governments. Under the guidance of national ministries such as the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, therefore, we will broaden the exchange with relevant countries, striving to make new progress in the construction of international cooperative mechanisms, Han said. 

Source: Chongqing Daily News