International links tightened with cooperation

Global companies show confidence in Chengdu's economic engine

Chengdu in Southeast China's Sichuan province recently announced it is to expand service trade cooperation with its Japanese counterparts.

It came after the city was approved by the National Development and Reform Commission in April as one of six Chinese cities to build the demonstration area of China-Japan regional development cooperation.

In mid-November, Chengdu released its plan on constructing the demonstration area and nine projects for promoting the cooperation in service trade. They included transit-oriented development, collaborative innovation, animation video games and healthcare.

Along with these announcements, the city signed agreements with Japanese companies as the result of its promotion of the pilot cooperation projects for city construction and the modern service industry.

During the event, the Chengdu city government signed 28 cooperative project agreements with Japanese enterprises and institutions, with a total planned investment of 21.75 billion yuan ($3.32 billion). Of them, 15 agreements such as the China-Japan digital low-carbon city science and technology innovation center of Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and the Chengdu (Japan) animation creative industry center are worth a planned investment of 20.45 billion yuan.

After holding the eighth Trilateral Summit Meeting Among China, South Korea and Japan, Chengdu has become a city brand with more recognition in Japan, said Tanaka Kazushige, chief representative of the Chengdu office of the Japan External Trade Organization.

"In the future, we hope to share the city's opportunities and development bonus with Japanese friends and to promote cooperation between Chengdu and Japan in fields including healthcare, social services, environmental protection, scientific research, culture and education, and services in transportation, tourism, finance and city construction," said an official from the city government.

Over the past few years, Chengdu has made achievements in trade cooperation and cultural exchanges with cities in Japan.

In 2019, the total import and export volume between Chengdu and Japan reached 31.48 billion yuan and the paid-in investment in Chengdu from Japan was $1.96 billion. Japan has invested in 326 enterprises in Chengdu, of which 38 are Fortune 500 enterprises, official data show.

In addition, four regular direct flights between Chengdu and the Japanese destinations Tokyo, Osaka and Sapporo－were opened last year, with a weekly flight volume of 35 round-trip flights and 70 flights.

From January to September, the import and export volume between Chengdu and Japan increased by 32.9 percent year-on-year, bucking the trend. Japan has become Chengdu's third-largest source of foreign investment and the seventh-largest service trade partner.

Expanded flights

In May, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport realized the first international cargo shipment to different destinations by different shippers in the country.

"International transshipment across shippers and cargo terminals is positive for our freight-forwarding enterprises," said Zhang Xiaodong, manager at the west zone business department of Chengdu branch of Sinotrans.

"It brings us more options to help clients plan tailor-made logistics with more economical and convenient solutions, and we are confident of our business expansion in the future,"Zhang said.

With more flight resources integrated and running, the function of Chengdu port to transit overseas goods and export local products will be improved and stable. It will significantly enhance the status of the Chengdu airport as a logistics transit center, said an official at the Chengdu Administration China (Sichuan) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

On Nov 19, the first special train carrying 108 imported BMW cars departed Chengdu International Railway Port. Compared with shipping from Germany to coastal ports and then distributors to Chengdu, the transportation time has been cut by three quarters, according to local officials.

Facing the complex and changeable external environment, the safety and stability of land ports are being given more attention, an official at the Qingbaijiang port area of the FTZ said.

After seven years of construction and operation, the China-Europe freight train in Chengdu has connected 55 overseas cities and 18 domestic cities.

As of October, Chengdu had operated 3,456 international trains and 1,917 China-Europe freight trains this year, up 48.3 percent and 57 percent, respectively, compared to last year.

Regional coordination

With the advancements in construction of Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle develops, the regional development influenced local companies.

At the beginning of this year, Sichuan's first exports via a cross-border highway, part of the country's new western land-sea corridor, were declared at Chengdu Customs. It marked the full opening of the highway freight mode from Chengdu to Southeast Asian countries. As of October, this cross-border highway had connected 25 routes with a transport value of over 80 million yuan. It has facilitated the transport of auto parts made in Chengdu and motorcycle parts produced by Chongqing enterprises.

In addition to the coordinated regional development, Chengdu has promoted e-commerce service.

Official data show that from January to November, the online retail sales in rural areas in Chengdu reached 62.28 billion yuan, up 23.97 percent year-on-year.

During the same period, Chengdu has achieved a cumulative e-commerce transaction volume of 2.06 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 3.01 percent. The online retail sales amounted to 373.43 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 13.42 percent.