Xinhua (October 21) reported that the CCP CC and State Council issued a Notification on October
20, publicising the Master Plan for the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle in
southwest China. The plan aims to turn the Chengdu-Chongqing area into an economic circle with
its own strengths and distinctive features, as well as a new driver and an important growth engine
of the country's high-quality development. It said by 2025, the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle
will witness significant increases in economic strength, development vitality and international
influence, and about 66 percent of its permanent residents are expected to be living in urban areas.
In five years, it will take only an hour to travel between Chongqing and Chengdu, it said. The area
will enjoy a railway network of more than 9,000 km that covers all the cities with a population of
over 200,000, while a shipping centre and a logistics centre for the upper Yangtze River will be
basically established. All urban areas and key scenes will be covered by the 5G network, and the
economic circle will see a marked improvement in new infrastructure and stronger capabilities in
safeguarding energy security. The area is expected to see spending on research and development
reach around 2.5 percent of its gross domestic product, while the contribution rate of scientific and
technological progress will hit 63 percent. Breakthroughs will be made in the construction of major
opening-up platforms such as the pilot free trade zones in Chongqing and Sichuan by 2025,
providing stronger support for the joint construction of the Belt and Road, according to the document.
By 2035, the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle will become an active growth pole and a
powerful driver with international influence, it said.
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