The new economy boosts the rise of Chengdu


Chengdu, enjoying the reputation of a “Heavenly Land of Abundance,” proposed its development strategy known as the New Economy Plan to respond to the call to pursue high-quality growth from the central government.Find the more Chengdu City news from SHINE.

As China is in the tide of transforming and upgrading its economy, cities around the nation are busy planning how to seize the opportunities to promote the development and enhance competitiveness.

“The plan to develop the new economy is the best reflection of Chengdu’s determination to restructure its economy, pursue innovation-driven development and remain competitive,” Zhou Cheng, chief of policy study department at the Chengdu New Economy Development Commission, told Shanghai Daily at 2018 Forbes China Innovation Summit.

The summit was held in Chengdu in mid August. Officials from Chengdu government, executives from prestigious companies from home and abroad and the chief editor of Forbes attended the summit to talk over the innovation issue.

Today’s Chengdu is not just one of the traditional big cities in the southwest of China, it is striving to become a “national central city” embodying new development concepts. Its leading capability in regional development of the new economy in central and western China is strengthening.

The 2018 Global Metropolis Monitoring Report, recently issued by Bookings Institution, one of the most influential think tanks in the US, shows that Chinese metropolises have notable performance among all nations and regions. Chengdu, in particular, stands out of all Chinese cities as it ranked third in the world and first in China with its high per capita GDP growth rate of 7.2 percent and high employment growth rate of 5.9 percent.

As of 2017, the permanent population of Chengdu has exceeded 16 million, the retail sales of consumer goods reached over 640 billion yuan (US$93.8 billion), the aviation throughput, the number of consulates and headquarters of well-known enterprises was only next to Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, the first-tier cities of China.

Moreover, Chengdu is now standing at the forefront of China’s economic transformation and upgrading with its innovation and entrepreneurship.

The city is building an industrial circle with global competitiveness on its way to become one of the most important economic centers in China.