On the afternoon of May 19, the first Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle freight train (Jiangjin District, Chongqing-Qingbaijiang District, Chengdu) entered Chengxiang Station in Qingbaijiang District, Chengdu. As the first direct freight train between Chengdu and Chongqing, it is expected to set a new record for the operation frequency of newly opened intercity freight trains in China.
Just like the freight train operating at full capacity just after the opening, Sichuan and Chongqing have resolutely implemented the strategic plans of the CPC Central Committee in the past two years to accelerate the flow of factors and the integration of industries between the two places.
According to statistics released at the beginning of this year, the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle achieved a regional GDP of 7.39192 trillion yuan in 2021, an increase of 8.5% over the previous year, and the growth rate rose by 4.5 percentage points over the previous year. It accounted for 6.5% and 30.8% of the economic aggregate of the whole country and the western region, respectively.
The construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle will offer an impetus to the high-quality regional coordinated development. The just-concluded 12th Sichuan Provincial Congress of the Communist Party of China further stressed that we should shoulder the strategic mission entrusted by the CPC Central Committee, and take a higher stance and more practical measures to advance the construction of Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle, thus striving for new changes every year and great outcomes in five years.
Joining hands together
"Next, the official from Hechuan District of Chongqing will report the rainfall forecasts in the coming week." On the morning of June 6, officials from Chongqing attended the Weekly Coordination Meeting on Flood Control in the Jialing River Basin.
The highly anticipated integration of Jialing River flood control comes true! Before that, Sichuan and Chongqing had successively signed a series of strategic agreements on disaster prevention and mitigation, including those on the joint flood control for cross-regional water conservancy projects.
Over the past two years, Sichuan and Chongqing have acted swiftly to shoulder their responsibilities. "Unified planning", "integrated deployment", "mutual cooperation" and "joint implementation" are frequently mentioned in the cooperation between the two places.
A coordination mechanism has been established between the two places. Since the first half of 2020, Sichuan and Chongqing have forged a multi-level cooperation mechanism. The two places regularly convene joint party-government meetings and coordination meetings among executive vice governors and executive vice mayors to study major issues, solve major problems, and promote the issuance of major documents. 201 party and government officials from the two places are assigned to each other to hold a temporary position. So far, four joint party-government meetings have been held, each of which is aimed at solving major problems in deepening cooperation, studying and planning major projects and issues.
On May 31, 2022, the day after the closing of the 12th Sichuan Provincial Congress of the Communist Party of China, Wang Xiaohui, Secretary of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee, led the newly elected Standing Committee of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee to conduct a special research on the construction of Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle and presided over a special meeting of the CPC Sichuan Provincial Committee to study measures for the further implementation of the project.
A clear understanding is formed — the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle will propel the comprehensive socialist modernization of Sichuan!
A number of plans have been implemented in an accelerated pace. Last year, the Planning Outline for the Construction of Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle and the joint implementation plan were successively issued. According to the Planning Outline, the party committees and governments of Sichuan and Chongqing issued the Chongqing-Sichuan Joint Plan for Implementing the Planning Outline for the Construction of Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle. Focusing on the key tasks specified in the Planning Outline, the Joint Plan specified 47 tasks in 10 aspects, and identified the responsible units of the two places one by one.
According to incomplete statistics, Sichuan and Chongqing have jointly drafted, reported and issued more than 30 plans in the past two years.
At the primary level, over the past two years, more than 300 cooperation agreements have been signed between departments, cities, prefectures, districts, counties and sectors in Sichuan and Chongqing, setting new records in the number, frequency and scope.
The cooperation between the two places has improved the government work efficiency. Taking the Chengdu-Nanchong-Dazhou-Wanzhou High-speed Railway connecting Chengdu and Chongqing as an example, it took only 40 days from the official approval of the feasibility study report by the National Development and Reform Commission on November 14, 2020 to the start of the construction.
Making combined efforts
"In the first five months of 2022, we ranked the third in terms of production and sales in China!" On June 6, the first day after the Dragon Boat Festival holiday, good news came from the factory of Zigong Zhongxing Wear-resistant New Materials Co., Ltd. The key to the company's successful entry into the top three is that in the context of the joint building of industrial and supply chains by Sichuan and Chongqing, it worked together with enterprises in Qijiang District of Chongqing, thus cutting cost significantly on the basis of diminishing the distance between core supplier and the buyer's designated site where the goods arrive.
Only by working diligently and ingeniously and seizing opportunities, can we successfully fulfill the mission and leap at the chance. Over the past two years, Sichuan and Chongqing have focused on key regions, key projects and key areas, strengthened the integration and innovation of systems and mechanisms, and continuously planned and carried out more projects, which have been completed eventually.
The building of transport infrastructure in Sichuan and Chongqing has been accelerated. In the first five months of 2022, 151 out of 160 major projects of jointly building Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle have been commenced, with an investment of 414.92 billion yuan. Among them, 38 modern infrastructure projects have started, with a total investment of more than 182.6 billion yuan. So far, 20 Sichuan-Chongqing provincial expressways have been completed or are under construction. Chongqing-Kunming High-speed Railway, Chengdu-Chongqing Middle Line High-Speed Railway and Chengdu-Nanchong-Dazhou-Wanzhou High-speed Railway will further perfect the high-speed railway network of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle.
New industries have come to the force. In the past two years, Sichuan and Chongqing have made clear their ambition to establish three trillion-level industrial clusters for automobile, electronic information and equipment manufacturing. Last year, the operating revenue of the electronic information industry in Sichuan and Chongqing exceeded 2 trillion yuan. The output value of the automobile industry reached about 700 billion yuan, and the equipment manufacturing industry maintained a high growth rate.
New momentum has been injected to promote development. Focusing on the integrated development of adjacent regions of Sichuan and Chongqing, the establishment of eight cooperation platforms for adjacent regions has been approved. In 2020, Sichuan and Chongqing facilitated access to market by establishing the "unified standard for market access in different places". Subsequently, the construction of Chengdu-Chongqing Comprehensive Science Center started in a centralized manner, and the construction of Tianfu Laboratory kicked off. Last year, the construction of Chengdu-Chongqing hub of the national integrated computing network was officially approved.
Combined efforts for ecological protection have been made successively. Since 2020, Sichuan and Chongqing have jointly signed strategic cooperation agreements on environmental governance and ecological protection regarding 10 aspects. As a result, the first cross-regional joint river chief system office in China has been put into operation, and provincial legislation for the protection of Jialing River basin has been completed. On December 14, 2021, Sichuan and Chongqing jointly issued the Joint Action Plan for Dual Carbon Goals in Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, which is the first regional joint action plan for realizing carbon emission peaking and carbon neutrality in China.
Accelerated construction
On June 6, Li Hongni, an accountant of Sichuan Yanzhao Real Estate LLC, couldn't believe her eyes when she received the settlement list — it took less than 10 minutes for her from entering the tax collection and administration service center of Sichuan-Chongqing Gaozhu New Area to completing tax payment.
The reason for this is that as a "pioneer" of the integrated development of the adjacent regions, Sichuan-Chongqing Gaozhu New Area has taken the lead in implementing 725 unified tax policies and standards.
Such changes of personal experience demonstrate the overall regional development. Since the beginning of the construction of Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle more than two years ago, everyone in Sichuan and Chongqing has witnessed real changes.
Life in Chengdu and Chongqing has become more convenient. In 2020, the public transport between Chengdu and the central urban area of Chongqing has been made more convenient by "all-in-one card". After the quality improvement, passengers can travel between the two cities via Chengdu-Chongqing High-Speed Railway and arrive in one hour. At present, there are an average of 30.5 pairs of Fuxing EMUs running between Chengdu and Chongqing every day, carrying more than 10 million passengers per year.
Matters concerning people's livelihood have been handled in a better way. Over the past two years, the mutual recognition and loan application of provident fund can be both handled in Sichuan and Chongqing alike, the smooth transfer and renewal of endowment insurance has been achieved, and medical expenses incurring in cities away from home can be settled directly. So far, Sichuan and Chongqing have jointly implemented two batches of 43 measures for convenient living, successively launched three batches of 311 "Sichuan-Chongqing inter-regional government services", and handled more than 9 million affairs.
Market vitality has been further stimulated. With the removal of "glass doors" and "revolving doors", the vitality of market entities continues to be stimulated. Since the beginning of 2020, 12,800 Sichuan and Chongqing market entities have obtained business licenses in areas other than the company's registered place.
