Singing the "Twin-City Initiative" and Creating Growth Poles | Two Cities Forge Ahead Embracing Transformative Change Striding Confidently Toward a New Horizon: GDP Reaches RMB8.7 trillion, Exports and Imports Exceed RMB1.7 trillion, Permanent Resident Population Grows by 435,000

In the early morning, a thin mist lingers over the surface of the Jialing River as a thousand-ton cargo ship slowly enters the lock of the Lize Shipping Hub. Approximately ten minutes later, it passes smoothly through the lock and proceeds downstream. 

"In the past, the dry season was our biggest fear - narrow channels and shallow water levels meant we risked running aground at any moment," said Zhang Jianguo, a veteran captain with 20 years of sailing experience. "Since the Lize Hub began operations, vessels can pass through all year round." 

On July 5, the Lize Shipping Hub marked its 100th day of operation. Over these 100 days, a total of 2,706 vessels have passed through safely. This "super project" spanning the Jialing River has not only transformed the water transport landscape of Sichuan and Chongqing, becoming a core pillar in the development of the shipping center on the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, but has also generated 193 million kWh of electricity - equivalent to reducing standard coal consumption by approximately 60,000 tons - providing a stable supply of clean energy to the Sichuan-Chongqing region. 

But it's not just water transport that has been transformed. Over the more than five years since the implementation of the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle plan, the two regions have undergone earth-shaking changes and are now striding confidently into a new era. 

GDP reaches RMB8.7 trillion 

Economic strength rises to a new level 

On August 5, the maximum load on Chongqing's power grid broke through 30 million kilowatts, reaching a record high of 30.196 million kilowatts. 

Despite such an extreme peak, power supply in Chongqing remained sufficient this year. 

This was no small feat. As one of China's most economically dynamic regions, Chengdu and Chongqing have experienced rapid growth in electricity demand in recent years, resulting in a noticeable power shortage. 

By the end of 2024, the Sichuan-Chongqing 1,000 kV Ultra-High Voltage AC Power Transmission Project was put into operation, rapidly turning the situation around. As the first ultra-high voltage AC project in Southwest China, it is capable of transmitting up to 35 billion kWh of clean electricity annually from Western Sichuan to load centers in Sichuan and Chongqing - enough to power nearly 10 million households for a year. 

Beyond their seamless coordination in energy layout, Sichuan and Chongqing have in recent years engaged in a dynamic "two-way collaboration" across multiple fronts. 

The continuous optimization of regional structure is now yielding a "1+1>2" effect. 

Under the "Dual-Core" leadership model, Chongqing and Chengdu have implemented three batches comprising 112 collaborative projects. The GDP of Chongqing's main urban area and Chengdu's metropolitan area rose from RMB 1.86 trillion and RMB 1.74 trillion in 2019 to RMB 2.52 trillion and RMB 2.35 trillion in 2024, respectively. 

The Chongqing Metropolitan Circle and Chengdu Metropolitan Circle are enhancing their quality and expanding capacity, with Chongqing accelerating its westward development and Chengdu its eastward expansion. Integrated development in Western Chongqing, the modern Eastern Chongqing New City, Guang'an's comprehensive integration into the Chongqing Metropolitan Circle, and the construction of the Chengdu-Deyang-Meishan-Ziyang Integrated Development Pilot Zone are all progressing steadily. 

Sichuan and Chongqing are intensifying efforts to implement key transportation and resource development projects, such as the Banan High-speed Railway and the Shuangjiangkou hydropower station. These initiatives are driving active integration of regions such as the Qinling-Daba Mountain Area, Wuling Mountains, Wumeng Mountains, Tibetan-inhabited areas, and the Greater and Lesser Liangshan Mountains into the economic circle. 

The rapid advancement of transportation infrastructure is shortening travel times and expanding development space across the region. 

On land, the total railway mileage in Sichuan and Chongqing exceeds 9,700 km, and expressway mileage has surpassed 15,000 km. On water, the two regions are collaboratively building a shipping hub in the upper Yangtze River area, with the national high-grade waterway system of the Yangtze, Jialing, and Wu Rivers ("one mainline, two tributaries") largely completed. In the air, Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport's fourth runway and T3B terminal, along with Chengdu Tianfu International Airport, are now operational, paving the way for the emergence of a world-class Chengdu-Chongqing airport cluster. 

Close industrial cooperation is fueling high-quality development across the Chongqing-Chengdu region. 

In recent years, Sichuan and Chongqing have jointly issued six industrial coordination plans covering sectors such as automotive manufacturing, developed 117 modern industrial system projects, and nurtured 35 industrial cooperation demonstration parks. The Chongqing Liangjiang New Area and Chengdu Tianfu New Area have established eight flagship industrial alliances, bringing together nearly 1,000 enterprises. 

Among these, four industrial clusters - electronics information, equipment manufacturing, advanced materials, and specialty consumer goods - have each exceeded RMB one trillion in scale. The region now produces two-thirds of the world's iPads, one-third of its laptops, one-tenth of China's automobiles, and one-fifth of its power batteries. Initiatives such as the "Hydrogen Corridor," "Electricity Corridor," and "Intelligent Mobility Corridor" are rapidly expanding and upgrading. 

A wave of technological innovation is empowering the Chengdu-Chongqing region to scale new heights in science and technology. 

In gathering innovation resources: The number of national key laboratories in Sichuan and Chongqing has reached 24, with 13 major sci-tech infrastructure projects - including the Ultra-Transient Experimental Facility - accelerating their development. Platforms such as the Integrative Science Center of Germplasm Creation in Western China (Chongqing) have yielded significant landmark achievements. 

In coordinating scientific strength: the two regions have implemented 257 joint sci-tech innovation projects, shared over 14,000 sets of large-scale research equipment, and seen technology contract transactions in the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle reach RMB352.53 billion, a 159% increase since 2019. 

In optimizing the innovation environment: Sichuan and Chongqing have gathered 90 academicians from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Engineering, established 10 "Double First-Class" universities and 19 such disciplines, and jointly initiated the Science and Innovation Mother Fund for the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle. 

Sichuan and Chongqing are answering critical questions together and resonating as one cohesive economic force. On the map of China, an economic center of national influence is steadily ascending to new levels. In 2024, the regional GDP of the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle reached RMB8.7 trillion, increasing its share of the national total from 6.3% to 6.5%. As a vital growth pole and powerhouse in Western China, the region is radiating dynamism and potential. 

Total import and export volume exceeds RMB1.7 trillion 

Reform and opening-up enter a new stage 

Due to objective differences in electricity pricing between Sichuan and Chongqing, the average annual electricity rate in Sichuan is RMB0.1 to 0.2 cheaper per kilowatt-hour. For enterprises located in the Sichuan-Chongqing Gaozhu New Area - which spans both administrative regions - the question of which electricity price to apply has been clearly resolved. 

"They use Sichuan's electricity price," said Chen Mi, Head of the Sichuan-Chongqing Gaozhu New Area Power Supply Service Center. 

In reality, achieving "same-city, same-price" electricity was no simple task. 

The predecessor of the Sichuan-Chongqing Gaozhu New Area was the Gaotan Industrial Park, where policies - ranging from investment and resettlement to utilities and personal medical insurance - differed significantly depending on whether enterprises fell under Sichuan or Chongqing jurisdiction. 

Since its establishment in 2020 as China's first cross-provincial jointly built new area, the Sichuan-Chongqing Gaozhu New Area has accelerated reforms in appropriate separation of economic zones and administrative divisions. It creatively implemented the principle of "adopting the lower cost and the higher standard," allowing enterprises to choose the more favorable utility rates from either region. 

The New Area has established the region's first physical cross-provincial electricity service agency, the Sichuan-Chongqing Gaozhu New Area Power Supply Service Center, making integrated cross-provincial electricity services a reality. 

The center has reviewed 44 policy discrepancies between Sichuan and Chongqing and has unified 40 of them; consequently, the cost of utilities such as water, electricity and gas is at least 15% lower than in Chongqing and Chengdu. 

Driven by the dividends of reform, the Sichuan-Chongqing Gaozhu New Area has attracted 205 enterprises, of which 89 are already in operation, double the number when the area was first established. 

In recent years, Sichuan and Chongqing have concentrated on key areas to explore pioneering and distinctive reforms, continuously highlighting their exemplary and driving role in the reform and opening-up of Western China and the nation. Sichuan and Chongqing have pushed their cross-regional collaboration into the deep zone, yielding one success after another. For example, the Sichuan Port and Shipping Investment Group has taken a stake in the New Land-Sea Trade Corridor Operation Co., Ltd. The Chongqing Expressway Group has partnered with the Sichuan Port and Shipping Investment Group to jointly operate the Lize Shipping Hub on the Jialing River. Furthermore, the Wanzhou Xintian Port Terminal Phase II, which is funded by six entities from the two cities, is soon to become operational. 

To break down invisible barriers, Sichuan and Chongqing have also actively promoted regional market integration, established a collaborative mechanism for fair competition review, improved facilitation mechanisms such as "same standards for market access across different regions", and formulated 17 regional local standards for "same standards for the same matters". Over the past five years, more than 9 million new private market entities have been registered in the region. 

Accumulated reform and innovation have built up momentum, steadily bringing the region's opening-up to a new level. 

Construction of the Sichuan-Chongqing open corridors continues to achieve fresh breakthroughs, and an inland multimodal transport network that links rail, road, water and air is rapidly emerging. 

The China-Europe Railway Express (Chengdu-Chongqing) has opened 51 routes serving over 120 Eurasian cities and has operated more than 36,000 trains, ranking first nationwide; Spanning 127 countries and territories, the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor links 555 ports across the globe and handles 1,166 types of cargo; The upper Yangtze River's first ten-thousand-ton terminal, Xinsheng Port, has opened for business. Scheduled barge shuttles now move cargo between Luzhou and Yibin ports and Chongqing Port via "water-to-water" transshipment, and ten-thousand-ton river-sea vessels sail directly from Ningbo-Zhoushan Port to Wanzhou Port in Chongqing. 

The rapid extension of open corridors is driving continuous upgrades and expansion of open platforms. Construction of the Belt and Road Foreign Exchange Center and the Import-Export Commodity Distribution Hub is accelerating. 4 additional comprehensive bonded zones, including Chongqing International Railway Port Comprehensive Bonded Zone, have been approved, and 11 are now fully operational. 

Evidence makes it clear: the "magnetism" of reform and opening-up is shifting into the propulsive force that carries the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle across mountains and oceans to the global stage. In 2024, Sichuan and Chongqing's open economy thrived. Their combined import and export value surpassed RMB 1.7 trillion, a 40% rise over 2019, and the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle continues to deepen reform integration and gateway functions, opening a new chapter in reform and opening up. 

The permanent population has grown by 435,000 over the past five years. 

A high-quality life is now within easy reach. 

Ensuring and enhancing people's well-being is a key task of the Chinese path to modernization and the end point of the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle initiative. 

Over the past 5 years, the two provinces have gained 435,000 permanent residents and pushed their urbanization rate to 66.1%, an increase of 4.4 percentage points. The Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle is now more livable and more business-friendly. 

"Hello, here's your baby's cross-province birth-registration confirmation!" Recently, Li Lian, a household-registration officer at Nancheng Police Station in Jiangjin District, handed the document to Mr. Liu. 

Mr. Liu and his wife, natives of Yibin in Sichuan Province, are currently employed in Chongqing. Their son was born in Chongqing, yet the couple wished to register his household in Yibin, expecting they would need to make a trip back to handle the procedures. Owing to coordinated policing between Sichuan and Chongqing, newborn household registration can now be processed on either side of the border. Mr. Liu handled his child's registration in Chongqing without returning to Yibin. 

So far, 407 infants delivered in Chongqing have been registered as residents of Sichuan. 

In recent years, the two regions have jointly launched 355 items under the "Sichuan-Chongqing joint services" initiative, becoming the first in China to achieve "one-stop" services for all types of household registration transfers between Sichuan and Chongqing, and implementing mutual recognition for the presentation of 40 types of electronic certificates. 

It is merely a glimpse of the broader effort by Sichuan and Chongqing to accelerate the joint development and sharing of public services. In recent years, the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle has kept drawing ever-wider "concentric circles", making daily life more secure and comfortable for its residents. For example, employment, social insurance and 30 other public services are now processed under identical standards in both provinces. A single transit card or QR code grants access to buses and trains across Chengdu and Chongqing. 935 secondary and tertiary public hospitals mutually recognize results for 222 medical tests. Housing provident funds can be deposited, transferred and borrowed across provincial boundaries without restriction. 

A truly integrated life has become reality. Sichuan and Chongqing's fine mountains, clear waters and beautiful scenery continue to cradle the everyday happiness of the people in these two regions. 

Both sides continue to strengthen the Upper Yangtze's ecological shield. Jointly, they have created green corridors along the Yangtze, Jialing and four other rivers, adding over 13 million mu of new and restored forest through the "Green Banks, Thousand-Mile Forest Belt" initiative. Yangtze fish, once given respite, now flourish, and the main river's water quality in the Sichuan-Chongqing reach has remained Grade II for years. 

Meanwhile, the shift toward green, low-carbon development is accelerating. Data reveal more than 90 million tons of carbon allowances have changed hands in the Sichuan-Chongqing market. Chongqing's energy intensity is 30% below the national average, while clean-power capacity has surged by 80% in Chongqing and by 43.3% in Sichuan over the past 5 years. 

As the cities surge ahead, the vast countryside of Chongqing and Sichuan is also being reborn. 

So far, the two provinces have launched 19 national rural-revitalization demonstration counties, 161 nationally recognized agricultural hubs, and 77 themed towns such as Lemon Town and Hotpot Town. They have developed over 8,000 livable, business-friendly villages and cultivated 170 state-level leading agribusinesses. 

Rowing together, we set sail; paddling hard, we ride the waves, and the world widens. As the second five-year plan chapter begins, the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle is revealing fresh advantages and seizing new opportunities, and on the "land of Bashu", it is creating a new vision of the Chinese path to modernization. 

Source: Chongqing Daily