Chengdu, known as the City of Hibiscus, is the capital of Sichuan province, a sub-provincial and national central city. It is the economic center, scientific and technological center, financial center, cultural and creative center, and foreign exchange center, as well as the comprehensive transportation and communication hub of western China. It has an urban history of 2300 years and a reputation as the Land of Abundance. It has jurisdiction over 11 districts, 4 county-level cities and 5 counties, as well as the main parts of the Chengdu National High-Tech Development Zone and Tianfu New Area. Covering an area of 14,300 km², it administers 20 million residents, including 15.2 million permanent inhabitants.
A Leader and Pioneer in Innovative Reforms. Chengdu is a national pilot area for comprehensive and innovative reforms, a national pilot free trade area and a national demonstration area for proprietary innovation. The Chengdu High-Tech Zone is an important national base for high-tech industries. The Tianfu New Area is a national-level new area. Chengdu enjoys convenient policy support and sound development opportunities in innovative reforms, FTA development, military and civil integration, finance for science and technology, and international trade.
Emerging Locational Advantages.Chengdu is the strategic pivot of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Yangtze River Economic Belt. It is striving to build an international hub with global reach, effective connectivity and comprehensive functionality. It is creating a new national gateway for opening westward and southward, reaching East Asia, South Asia and European countries. The Chengdu-Europe Express Railway reaches the hinterland of Europe within 14 days at most. With 105 regular direct international (and regional) air routes, it connects with important hub cities in North America, Europe, Oceania, Africa and Asia.
An Upgrading Economy with Accelerated Transformation.The new development philosophy is fully implemented here, with the working modes of the economic organizations changed, the industrial economic geography reshaped and the development of a modern economic system accelerated. It is deepening the supply-side structural reform, promoting institutional and systemic innovation, implementing the strategy of rural revitalization, and integrating the development of urban and rural areas. It is the first city to set up a New Economy Committee in China to improve the institutional environment and social atmosphere, making sure that it is most conducive to the development of the new economy. It is also the first city to allow formal residential registration with a bachelor's diploma, establishing a talent green card system in Chengdu.
Accelerated Urban Capacity Expansion.It vigorously implements the eastward development strategy, planning high-level and high-standard development of new areas such as the Airport New City, Huaizhou New City and Jianzhou New City District as well as the modern industrial corridor of the eastside of Longquan Mountain. It spares no efforts in promoting the eastward movement of the advanced manufacturing sector and producer services. The purpose is to facilitate the strategic transitioning of the urban spatial structure from “a city squeezed between two mountains” to "a mountain with two wings". Tremendous efforts are being made to open up space for the future sustainable development of the city.
Strengthened Opening up and Cooperation.It is deeply integrated into China’s Belt and Road Initiative, deepening cooperation with the northeastern and southern Sichuan economic zones, twinning up the development between Chengdu and Chongqing and accelerating regional economic integration. t is stepping up the construction of the Tianfu International Airport. The Center for China – Europe Cooperation has been put into use. The PilotFTA is now open for business. Moreover, the Chengdu-Europe Express Railway connects Chengdu with 14 foreign cities and 12 domestic cities, and facilitates Chengdu to establish economic and trade ties with 228 countries （regions）. 281 out of the Fortune Global 500 companies have set up shop in Chengdu. Chengdu has paired with 77 international sister cities and friendly cooperation cities. 16 countries have set up their consulates in Chengdu.
Comprehensive Improvement of Soft Power.Chengdu has dug deep into the essence of the Tianfu culture, represented by the features of "innovation and creativity, elegance and fashion, optimism and inclusiveness, friendliness and charity”. It is speeding up the development of historical and cultural blocks that carries the local culture and memory such as the Temple of Marquis and Kuanzhai (Wide and Narrow) Alleys. It is building the city’s landmark facilities, including Tianfu Jincheng and Tianfu Center, with high standards. Besides, it is proactively building a world-famous cultural city, tourist city and sport events city. And it also pursues high standards to make Chengdu an international city of gastronomy, music and expos. Chengdu has been successfully selected as the thirty-forth member of the World Cities Culture Forum.
Increasing Sense of Fulfillment, Happiness and Safety for the People.It adheres to the development philosophy of putting people first by vigorously promoting the development of the quality-of-life services, making social security fairer and more sustainable, providing more balanced public services with higher quality and building a more livable urban environment. The greenery coverage rate of the urban built environment is 40.9%, and the per capita park space is 14.59 square meters, contributing to Chengdu’s winning the title of “National Ecological Conservation Demonstration Area”. The green urban transportation system of "metro + bus + walk", also called the three-way integration, is gradually improved. The mileage of subway under operation has reached 180 kilometers. It is among the first cities in China to set up the Development and Governance Committee for Urban and Rural Communities, promoting the innovation of governance at the community level guided by the party building efforts.
At present, Chengdu has established a "three-step" strategy: for the coming five years, the construction of a national central city fully embodying the new development philosophy will be largely completed on the basis of building a well-off society that meets high standards and in an all-around way; from 2022 to 2035, an international gateway and hub influential in Pan-Asian and Pan-European regions will be fully shaped with its accelerated development towards a harmonious and livable city of high standards; from 2035 to 2050, a modernized new Chengdu, a sustainable cosmopolitan city, will be formed.
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