Chengdu's eastern districts attracting major projects

Economic circle gains momentum from large-scale investment

New districts in eastern Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan province, have attracted a raft of projects to shore up the development of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle.

The term "Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle" was first introduced at a conference held by the Financial and Economic Commission of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in early January, and highlights Chengdu's mission to lead high-quality development in western China and even the whole country, officials said.

Beijing Geely University is relocating from Beijing to Jianzhou New Town in eastern Chengdu. The first-phase construction of the new campus will be completed this month. As scheduled, this September, the new campus will take student admissions.

The Geely University (Chengdu) has the capacity to enroll 25,000 students in total and set up majors in intelligent automobile manufacturing, modern economic management and event management.

The university is among more than 10 billion yuan ($1.43 billion) in projects that Zhejiang Geely Holding Group has invested in Chengdu. The projects include an automobile technology and culture center and an international motor racing track, aiming to establish a complex covering education, automobile culture and urban life.

Based on geographical advantages of being located between Chengdu and Chongqing, and the favorable development of Chengdu and Chongqing's automobile industry, Jianzhou New Town is determined to develop the new energy vehicle industry and intelligent connected automobile industry, according to local officials.

The Chengdu Economic and Technological Development Zone, adjacent to Jianzhou New Town, is a vital automobile manufacturing base in China, producing more than 1 million vehicles and with an output value exceeding 200 billion yuan in 2019.

So far this year, the Chengdu Economic and Technological Development Zone has made further strides in promoting its intelligent connected vehicle industry.

In June, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology set up an automobile connectivity innovation branch in the zone.

As a research and development institution directly subordinate to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology has registered its automobile connectivity innovation center in Chengdu, marking Sichuan's intelligent connected automobile industry for speedy development, officials said.

According to the Chengdu government, the innovation center is the first of its kind in the field of automobile connectivity, and will be equipped with four sub-centers focusing on technology and standards, data research, innovation research and intelligent transportation solutions, and two laboratories for inspection, testing and certification and information safety.

In addition, the economic and technological development zone has joined hands with Chinese telecoms company Huawei to collaborate in the fields of intelligent connected automobiles, industrial internet, smart city, smart events and professional training.

The two sides are scheduled to found a 5G intelligent connectivity innovation center, engaging in research, testing, verification and application of intelligent driving and intelligent connectivity cloud control platforms.

Collaborating with Huawei, the economic and technological development zone is poised to ally itself with key players in the industries of information communications technology, cloud and intelligent driving, aiming to forge a comprehensive intelligent connectivity ecosystem.

An Zhenwei, general manager of HIT Robot Group's Chengdu subsidiary, said the interaction and collaboration between Chengdu's and Chongqing's automobile industries will further expand the market.

"Many auto R&D institutions in Chongqing also serve the auto industry in the Chengdu Economic and Technological Development Zone. At the same time, auto parts and components manufacturers in the zone support Chongqing's automobile manufacturing industry," An said.

Wang Qi, chairman of Qiyang Group, an auto dealer headquartered in Chengdu, said that Chengdu's achievements in developing its eastern area have brought more development opportunities to many local enterprises.

"It is predicted that the auto industry ecosystem will be established in the city's eastern part in the future, and a manufacturing industry cluster valued at 100 billion yuan will be formed," Wang said.

The improvement in logistics transportation between Chengdu and Chongqing will also expand sales channels and coverage of local companies from the two cities, Wang added.

In addition, eastern Chengdu is stepping up efforts to promote the establishment of the Tianfu International Airport New Town and Huaizhou New Town, to facilitate the development of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle.

An aviation industrial park featuring intelligent manufacturing and industrial internet is under construction in the Tianfu International Airport New Town.

The first two areas of the industrial park, covering 500,000 square meters in total, will start construction by the end of this year, and investment promotion will be carried out at the same time, according to local government.

In Huaizhou New Town, a photovoltaic industry project by Tongwei Solar with a total investment of 20 billion yuan began construction in March. The project is expected to help Chengdu-made clean energy products join the high-end global photovoltaic industry chain.

Chengdu also plans to establish a future technology city in its eastern area.

Identifying itself as a hub of international innovative universities and innovative enterprises, the future technology city will focus on the fields of intelligent manufacturing and aeronautics, and establish an international cooperative education park, an intelligent manufacturing demonstration area and a world-class center for applied sciences.