Chengdu's influence being felt across the world

Openness is a defining characteristic of contemporary China. In recent years, Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province, has used its location as a key hub in the Belt and Road Initiative and as a starting point of the ancient Southern Silk Road. By deepening international exchanges and cooperation, Chengdu has enhanced its level of openness, achieving breakthroughs and advancements.

Night aerial view of twin towers of the Tianfu International Financial Center. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

On May 25, the first China-Europe freight train (Chengdu-Russia) passed though Alashankou in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region on its way to Russia loaded with 55 containers of televisions, shoes and clothing. The train had initially departed from the Chengdu International Railway Port. The launch of this rapid train will improve the transportation efficiency from Chengdu to Russia.

Launched in 2013, the China-Europe freight train has passed through numerous regions, connecting Eurasia and echoing globally. This international trade transport route, the Silk Road on land, has provided Chengdu with momentum to expand its foreign trade. To date, Chengdu has operated nearly 30,000 international trains, connecting 112 cities abroad, with the cumulative operation volume of China-Europe freight trains (Chengdu-Chongqing) ranking first nationwide.

As the Silk Road on land accelerates its extension, the airborne Silk Road is soaring, shortening the journey between Chengdu and the world. Chengdu's air passenger throughput now ranks third among cities in China and its air cargo and mail throughput ranks sixth.

To date, Chengdu has resumed and expanded its regular direct international and regional flights - 49 passenger routes and 22 cargo routes - forming a basic network of intercontinental passenger routes to Europe, America, Australia and Africa, with major Asian destinations also covered.

These interconnected channels have not only attracted clusters of enterprises, but enhanced the convenience for businesses to expand into international markets.

TCL Optoelectronics Technology (Chengdu), the first local enterprise to use the Chengdu-China-Europe freight train for transport and to realize production capacity transfer, is also the first processing trade enterprise in the Comprehensive Bonded Zone of Chengdu International Railway Port.

"The Chengdu-China-Europe freight train meets the high demands for timeliness and stability, helping TCL expand into the European market," said General Manager Chen Hezhi.

As of May 27, TCL had shipped a total of 26,400 containers via the China-Europe freight trains in Chengdu, with an export value of approximately 21.76 billion yuan ($3 billion), including 2,033 containers and an export value of about 1.22 billion yuan this year alone.

Service trade, an important component of international trade and a crucial area of international economic and trade cooperation, has seen significant growth in Chengdu. In recent years, Chengdu has conducted national service trade innovation development trials, introduced a series of supportive policies and encouraged service trade enterprises to expand into international markets.

Employees are working in the laboratory at Sichuan Biokin Pharmaceutical. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

On Dec 11, 2023, SystImmune, Sichuan Biokin Pharmaceutical's wholly-owned subsidiary, and Bristol Myers Squibb reached a global strategic cooperation agreement for the development and commercialization rights of BL-B01D1, an antibody-drug conjugate. The potential total transaction value of the agreement could reach up to $8.4 billion, breaking the record for Chinese innovative drugs going abroad. It is also China's first ADC to go international. The first payment of $800 million from the authorization license transaction was received in the first quarter of this year.

According to a relevant person in charge, Biokin Pharmaceutical's unprecedented success abroad is the result of years of research and development, although the journey has been challenging. "Supportive policies encouraging pharmaceutical companies to increase R&D efforts and expand into overseas markets have provided sufficient momentum for our development," they said.

Biokin Pharmaceutical's success is a glimpse of the rapid rise of Chengdu's service trade. In the first quarter, the city's total service import and export volume increased by 84.3 percent year-on-year, making the service trade a force in promoting the high-quality development of foreign trade.

Chengdu has been known for its prosperity since ancient times. The convergence of Chengdu and the World Horticultural Exposition has again drawn the world's attention and cooperation.

On the eve of the World Horticultural Exposition, the Chengdu Opening-up and International Cooperation Center held exchanges with Uzbekistans Fergana region, Chengdu's international friendly cooperation city, to deepen cooperation in trade, economy, industry and cultural tourism.

Chengdu Zhiyuanhui Information Technology, which is participating in the exchange meeting, is a leading "artificial intelligence plus big data" technology enterprise in China focusing on urban digital platform development, investment, construction and scenario operation. It has achieved project implementation in Uzbekistan.

"We began our layout in 2022 and have since established cooperation with Fergana, Uzbekistan. Moving forward, we hope to leverage the Chengdu Opening-up and International Cooperation Center to connect with more international resources. We also aim to bring our business partners from Uzbekistan to Chengdu, allowing more local enterprises to connect with international markets and deepen bilateral trade," said Liu Yong, director of market expansion at Chengdu Shiny Technology.

Many enterprises such as Zhiyuanhui are emerging across Chengdu in various industries. As Chengdu accelerates its pace of opening-up, its international influence is increasing and exchanges across the world are becoming more frequent.

Chengdu has established economic and trade relations with 235 countries and regions worldwide. On average, two foreign-funded enterprises invest in Chengdu every day, with 315 Fortune Global 500 companies settling in Chengdu, ranking it first in the central and western regions.