Chongqing: The BRI Gateway

Chongqing- Chongqing is the bustling metropolis that marks the connection point of the Belt and Road and Yangtze River Economic Belt. In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping proposed to build the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, starting the process of BRI cooperation. Chongqing, a vital hub for the Belt and Road, has gained fruitful achievements.

Chongqing has several cross-border corridors. One of the prominent routes is the China Railway Express to Europe (Chengdu and Chongqing), which starts from our Chongqing Western International Logistics Hub Park, crosses the border in Xinjiang, and passes through Kazakhstan, Russia, Belarus, Poland, and reaches Duisburg, Germany, with a total length of about 11,000 kilometers. The journey takes only 13 days, the transport price is 1/5 of aviation, and the running time is 1/4 of maritime transport. From January to May this year, the number of China Railway Express to Europe (Chengdu and Chongqing) reached 2,319, an increase of 52% year-on-year.

Based on land transportation, Chongqing has also innovated and designed new models, such as rail-sea intermodal transport, further expanding the International Land-Sea Trade Corridor (ILSTC) to 393 ports in 119 countries and regions worldwide. It’s becoming a successful regional strategy under the BRI. From here, a network of trading routes extends across continents, forging new connectivity paths and revolutionizing global trade.

The BRI also profoundly impacts the lives of people in participating nations. Take Vietnam as an example. It has become Chongqing's largest trading partner in ASEAN countries. Vietnamese logistics enterprises hope to supply goods to South, West, and Central Asia through Chongqing as a hub to explore more international markets.

Another achievement of Chongqing is that the loans and financing are now more secure. The China-Singapore (Chongqing) Demonstration Initiative on Strategic Connectivity (CCI) has greatly enhanced the opening up of Chongqing's financial sector to the world by promoting a series of financial openness and innovation policies. By the end of 2022, cross-border financing under the CCI exceeded US$18.5 billion, more than ten times more than the pre-Chinese-Singapore cooperation.

Over the past ten years, the achievements have also included policy communication, cooperation in science and technology, education, cultural tourism, health, etc. Chongqing's active participation has brought prosperity not only to the city itself but also to communities outside of China. It has played a crucial role in the growth and well-being of nations along the Belt and Road. We are building bridges, connecting nations, and shaping a brighter future for all.