Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan Province, is a sub-provincial city governing 20 districts (county-level cities or counties), High-tech Industrial Development Zone and Chengdu Direct Administrative Area of Tianfu New Area. The city covers an area of 14,600 km2 and has a resident population of more than 16 million. Currently, Chengdu is accelerating its pace to develop itself as a national central city that comprehensively reflects innovative developmental ideas.
Founded over 2300 years ago, Chengdu is honored as “A Paradise on Earth” and home to several world natural and cultural heritages such as Mount Qingcheng, the Dujiangyan Irrigation System, and the Chengdu Panda Breeding and Research Base, and boasting 40 national scenic sites rated 4A or above, such as Wuhou Temple, Dufu's Thatched Cottage, and the Jinsha Relics, as well as multiple intangible cultural heritages, such as Sichuan Opera and Sichuan Brocade, etc. As one of the first batch of cities famous for its long history and profound culture, Chengdu is also China’s Best Tourist Destination, an honorary title jointly granted by UNWTO and China National Tourism Administration.
Chengdu quickly makes adjustment to the new normal conditions and leads China’s west with its economic strength being substantially boosted. In 2016, the Gross Regional Product of Chengdu stood at RMB 1217.02 billion, up by 7.7%. Fixed asset investment was RMB 837.05 billion, up by 14.3%, among which, industry investment reached RMB 224.62 billion, up by 41%, with the latter two growth rates ranked No.1 in sub-provincial cities. Thanks to in-depth implementation of the Chengdu Manufacturing 2025 Plan, at present, Chengdu is already home to four industrial clusters worth of RMB 100 billion, namely, electronic information, automobile, machinery and food as well as two industrial parks worth of RMB 100 billion, namely, Chengdu High-tech Industrial Development Zone and Chengdu Economic Development Zone. Chengdu strives vigorously to build itself into an important national center of advanced manufacturing by 2025. According to thorough implementation of the 2025 Development Plan for Service Sector of Chengdu, Chengdu is committed to transforming itself into a world tourist destination, an international paradise for shopping, a world-class hub for exhibition and convention as well as city of gastronomy by 2025. In 2016, visitors to Chengdu reached 200 million person-times, and total tourism revenue hit RMB 250 billion. Chengdu is committed to building itself into a core city for national services by 2025.
Chengdu is implementing the 2025 Plan for Building Innovative City and Growth Driven by Innovation initiative. Through creating innovation and entrepreneurship platform such as Chengdu Global Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fair, 180 relevant events have been launched, 31 national-level maker spaces for innovation and entrepreneurship have been founded. Being chosen as the demonstration city of innovation and venture for micro and small sized enterprises in China, Chengdu was also rated by Fortune magazine as one of the Top 10 Cities to start up business in China in 2015. Chengdu is committed to building itself into a national innovative city and a regional innovation and entrepreneurship center with an international influence by 2025.
To propel its all-round opening-up and cooperation, the city is further implementing its 2025 Plan to Become an International City, driven by its free trade area establishment and its Chengdu-Europe+ strategy. The city has set up in the international cooperation parks with Germany, France, Cuba, and Singapore. The Chengdu-Europe Express Rail boasts the cargo trains with the shortest running time and highest utilization frequency among the China-Europe Block Train. Currently, Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport offers nearly 100 international air routes connecting Chengdu with multiple international and regional cities including the likes of Paris, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Abu Dhabi, Frankfurt, Doha, and San Francisco. Chengdu is also the fourth 72-hour Visa-Free City in China. The construction of Tianfu International Airport is underway in Chengdu, and the city is to become the third Chinese city owning two international airports after Shanghai and Beijing. Sixteen countries, namely the United States, Germany, South Korea, France, Thailand, Singapore, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Australia, Israel, New Zealand, Poland, Czech Republic, India and Switzerland, have been approved to set up consulates here, and 34 provinces or cities of France, Austria, Japan, the US, Canada, Slovenia, Italy, South Korea, Indonesia, Sweden, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, Belgium, Australia, Thailand, Denmark, Israel, India and Brazil have signed sister city agreements with Chengdu. Since the turn of the millennium, Chengdu has become a member of the League of Historical Cities, World Technopolis Association, Pacific Asia Travel Association, World Organization of United Cities and Local Governments and World e-Governments Organization of Cities and Local Governments. Currently, a growing number of foreign banks including Standard and Chartered from the UK, Citi Bank from the US, BNP Paris from France, ABN from the Netherlands, United Overseas Bank from Singapore, Bank of East Asia from Hong Kong, Woori Bank from South Korea, ANZ Bank from Australia as well as world renowned companies such as Intel, Motorola, Toyota, Ericsson, Nokia, IBM, Bayer, Kobe Steel, Maersk, Texas Instrument, Dell, Lenovo, SK Group, Foxconn, Compal, Wistron, Wal-Mart, Carrefour, Ito-Yokado, Metro Group, Ikea and other global retailer giants have operated in Chengdu. At present, a total of 278 enterprises of the Fortune Global 500 have built presence in the city. It is a successful host city of the Fortune Global Forum and the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, and listed as one of the Best Emerging Cities for Business by Fortune. It was also named as Benchmark City for Investment Environment in Inland China by the World Bank. With an urban green coverage ratio of 40.9% downtown and the percentage of forest cover is 38.7% across the entire municipality, the city is titled be a National Ecological Civilization Demonstration Plot, and reported by the Asian Development Bank as China’s most livable city.
