Open the door to the world.

A train passes by Yachi River Bridge on Chengdu-Guiyang high-speed railway. Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Xushe

Tianfu international airport after the capping. Reporter He Haiyang photo

Luzhou Port Bonded Logistics Center (Type B). Photo by Yang Shangwei (Visual Sichuan)

     

Global opening

Being inland, my heart is open to the world. The coming year of 2019 will definitely have a profound impact on Sichuan’s opening-up process.

This is a year in which the construction of the "Belt and Road" has been further advanced. About one-third of the province’s foreign trade, four-fifths of foreign contracted projects and two-fifths of foreign investment are distributed in countries and regions along the route. Sichuan cuisine, Sichuan wine, Sichuan tea and Sichuan lanterns are well-known in the Belt and Road Initiative.

This is a year in which the open economy has developed by leaps and bounds. The influence of Sino-US trade friction is gradually emerging, and Sichuan’s foreign trade is "striving for progress while maintaining stability". In the first 11 months of this year, the total import and export volume of goods trade in Sichuan Province exceeded that of last year, much higher than the growth rate of the same period in China.

This is a year in which the energy level of the open cooperation carrier has been upgraded. China (Sichuan) Pilot Free Trade Zone, with an area of less than 1/4,000 of the province, has contributed 1/3 of newly established foreign-funded enterprises, 1/10 of the total import and export volume of goods and 1/20 of the new market players in the province. The comprehensive functions of international cooperation parks such as China-France, China-Germany, China-Italy, China-Korea and Xinchuan are improving day by day, and the construction of domestic and foreign diversified cooperation platforms is accelerating.

This is a year in which the construction of the open channel has been vigorously promoted. Our province signed agreements with Guizhou, Yunnan and other provinces to strengthen inter-provincial consultation and cooperation and jointly build a new land and sea passage in the west.

This is a more extensive year of foreign exchanges and cooperation. Our "circle of friends" is growing, and we have established economic and trade relations with more than 220 countries and regions.

In 2019, when the waves broke, the door of Sichuan’s opening to the outside world opened wider and wider.

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Big channel

The number of new "air bridges" ranks first in the country.

South-bound high-speed rail is densely populated.

On December 27th, the final concrete was poured in the GTC of Chengdu Tianfu International Airport, and the main project of the airport terminal area was completed.

Tianfu International Airport, which is expected to be put into operation in the first half of 2021, is an important international gateway hub of the Belt and Road Initiative and a new power source to support the development and opening up of Sichuan and even the western region. Although it will not be put into operation for more than a year, in the airport construction headquarters not far from the airport construction site, staff from Sichuan Airport Group, air traffic control department, Air China and Sichuan Airlines have settled in to prepare for the preliminary work. "There are more and more people, and parking spaces are a little tight." A staff member told reporters with a smile.

After Tianfu International Airport is put into operation, all international routes will be translated. Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport is busy opening more international (regional) routes to "reserve" the operation of the new airport.

Since January this year, Chengdu has successively opened international (regional) routes such as Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh, Istanbul, Rome, Chicago and Helsinki. By the end of October, there were 122 international (regional) routes in Chengdu. On December 31st, China Eastern Airlines will also start direct flights from Chengdu to Budapest. Chengdu will add 15 international regional routes throughout the year, ranking first in the country.

The ground channel is also being encrypted. On December 28th, Yibin West Station, in front of the train platform to Guiyang, many people waited in line. "It will arrive in two hours, and I will come back after a trip on the weekend." Han Bing, a citizen, said that with the high-speed rail, it is more convenient to go out of the province.

The Chengdu-Guiyang High-speed Railway, which was opened on December 16th this year, allows Sichuan to go out of Sichuan from east to south and north, and also allows the high-speed railway in western China to run from north to south. So far, the mileage of high-speed rail in Sichuan has exceeded 1000 kilometers, and many cities in Sichuan, such as Chengdu and Yibin, have become the connecting hubs. Dai Bin, president of Sichuan Regional Economic Research Association, believes that linking Chengdu-Guangzhou high-speed railway with Chengdu-Chongqing high-speed railway, connecting Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, will promote the construction of an open economic highland in the interior of Sichuan and promote the open development of the western inland areas.

The Nanchong-Bazhong section of another Sichuan-man of iron Banan Railway started construction on December 25th, and the mileage of the high-speed rail project under construction in the province during the 14th Five-Year Plan will exceed 1,000 kilometers. Liu Zhigang, Chairman of Hanbanan Railway Company, said that after the completion of the entire Hanbanan Railway, Pakistan and China will "storm" Chengdu in 75 minutes and reach Beijing in 6 hours at the earliest.

The access to the Sichuan Expressway has also been reported frequently.

Two southbound expressways-S80 Gu ‘e Expressway Xishui (Sichuan-Guizhou Boundary) to Gulin Section Expressway and G8515 Ronglu Expressway-have been completed and will be put into trial operation at 24: 00 on December 31st. By then, there will be 21 high-speed exits from Sichuan in our province.

There are more and more large passages, which are more and more smooth.

The witness said

In 2019, when the Leyi and Yigui sections of Chengdu-Guiyang high-speed railway were opened, I became the first driver twice.

It’s an honor, and I’m also very emotional: Chengdu-Guiyang high-speed railway is also a mountain high-speed railway, just like Xicheng high-speed railway. It’s not easy to build a high-speed rail under such difficult conditions! As a driver, I will also summarize the methods of smooth control on the high-speed rail in mountainous areas, make every attendance well, realize the punctuality and punctuality of moving cars, and bring passengers the best travel experience.

—— Feng Shuai, the driver of Chengdu Locomotive Depot of China Railway Chengdu Bureau Group Corporation and the first driver of Chengdu-Guiyang high-speed railway.

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Large platform

The position of the comprehensive bonded zone as the "first platform" for foreign trade is prominent.

At the end of the year, Sichuan’s open platform construction received a "big gift package"-the State Council approved the establishment of three comprehensive bonded zones in Sichuan: Chengdu International Railway Port Comprehensive Bonded Zone, Yibin Comprehensive Bonded Zone and Luzhou Comprehensive Bonded Zone. "It is rare to centrally approve the establishment of three comprehensive bonded zones in a province." Tang Jiqiang, chief researcher of Xicai Think Tank, lamented that at this point, the number of comprehensive bonded zones in Sichuan ranks first in the central and western regions.

This year, the platform status of Chengdu High-tech Comprehensive Bonded Zone, which has been put into operation, was highlighted. Jianjin Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. here has suffered losses for many years, but its business has developed rapidly in recent years. Last year, the export volume of Jianjin Pharmaceutical was 30 times that of 2013. "Products are in short supply, and the production line needs to be expanded." Gong Wei, the company’s deputy director of public affairs, said that the company’s second production line is about to be put into operation, and the third production line has completed the project approval procedures.

From "not enough to eat" in the production line to the shortage of products, Gong Wei said that the transformation was largely due to the platform advantages of the comprehensive bonded zone.

In 2015, Jianjin Pharmaceutical became the first enterprise in China to carry out in-house processing in the comprehensive bonded zone, breaking through the traditional restriction that enterprises in the zone can only undertake overseas processing business, so that enterprises in the zone can use the surplus capacity to undertake entrusted processing business outside the domestic zone. "It not only enables enterprises to improve production efficiency, but also fully expands domestic and foreign markets." Chen Hai, Commissioner of Jincheng Customs, a subsidiary of Chengdu Customs, said that after winning the pilot of processing business within the Commission, the problem of idle production capacity of Jianjin Pharmaceutical Company will be effectively solved and profits will be created for the enterprise. At present, Jianjin Pharmaceutical has undertaken the top ten pharmaceutical processing business of three global pharmaceutical companies, helping enterprises outside the region to produce anti-tumor injection products. The sales revenue this year is expected to exceed 300 million yuan.

Give full play to the platform advantages of the comprehensive bonded zone, and Chengdu High-tech Comprehensive Bonded Zone has become the main force to promote the growth of foreign trade in our province. From January to November this year, the total import and export value of goods trade in Sichuan Province was 612.56 billion yuan, up 13.4% year-on-year, much higher than the national overall growth rate. Among them, Chengdu High-tech Comprehensive Bonded Zone accounts for 64.2%, which is a well-deserved "first platform" for Sichuan’s foreign trade.

The relevant person in charge of Chengdu Customs said that the Chengdu Hi-tech Xiyuan Comprehensive Bonded Zone, which is in the acceptance stage, will be put into operation soon, and the construction of three new comprehensive bonded zones will be accelerated. The five comprehensive bonded zones will provide strong guidance and support for the development of Sichuan’s foreign trade.

Liu Xin, director of the Provincial Department of Commerce, said that in addition to the comprehensive bonded zone, our province will also promote the expansion of national economic development zones and the upgrading of provincial development zones, build high-quality pilot free trade zones, promote the differentiated development of international cooperation parks such as China-Germany, China-France, China-Italy, China-Korea and Xinchuan, and do a good job in building China-Europe centers.

The witness said

As the first batch of pilot enterprises to import parallel cars at Qingbaijiang Vehicle Port, we have vigorously developed the import and export business of parallel cars and other special commodities along the "Belt and Road" with the help of China-Europe trains and the new land and sea passages in the west. In 2018, our company became the first enterprise in China to carry out bonded storage business of parallel cars in bonded logistics centers. The reform and innovation dividend has driven the rapid development of parallel car business. This year, we imported 348 bonded parallel cars, a year-on-year increase of about 30 times.

The approval of Chengdu International Railway Port Comprehensive Bonded Zone is of great benefit to us. In the future, we can carry out new businesses such as bonded display and compliance rectification in the region. I believe I will go to by going up one flight of stairs next year.

—— Chen Youfu, General Manager of Chengdu Zhengye Yuxiang Parallel Automobile Sales Co., Ltd.

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Big action

Four months of "nothing to say"

And an office full of "Buddhist scriptures"

On December 27th, interviewed by a reporter, the staff of the high-tech zone in Ziyang, the pioneer zone of collaborative reform in Sichuan Pilot Free Trade Zone, seemed reluctant, and said several times, "Forget it, let’s talk about it next year". Because in his view, there is still "nothing to say". "From the approval to the present, Jinan’s government service experience and Nanchang’s investment model have basically been copied and promoted."

The reporter mentioned that the materials show that both of them have successfully landed in the local area and achieved initial results. He still shook his head: "After all, there is no original institutional innovation."

It’s really a little early to take stock of innovations. In August this year, the provincial government issued the "6+1" Overall Plan for the Construction of the Pilot Zone for Collaborative Reform in China (Sichuan) Pilot Free Trade Zone, and the Pilot Zone for Collaborative Reform officially entered the implementation stage.

However, this does not hinder the evaluation of their significance to Sichuan’s opening up and development. "I don’t know how many provincial and municipal officials have been received in such a small office." The person in charge of the Provincial Free Trade Office drew a circle by hand to illustrate the cramped office space. Here, many officials from other provinces and cities came to visit and asked for the first batch of experiences and practices of collaborative reform of the pioneering area. Sometimes there are too many people, so we have to borrow stools.

The reason is that this is an original and differentiated experimental path pioneered by Sichuan in China. More importantly, they will inherit the "soul" of the Pilot Free Trade Zone-institutional innovation.

"The pioneering area of collaborative reform is like a spark. I hope that through them, internationally accepted economic and trade rules and new opening concepts will be spread on a wider scale, so that more regions can reflect on their own gaps and pain points." The person in charge of the Provincial Free Trade Office said.

"In the past, investment promotion and preferential policies, and now it is the institutional environment." Sheng Yi, a researcher at the Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, said that Sichuan is turning into an institutional opening that pays more attention to rules. What the pioneer zone of collaborative reform should promote is a more competitive institutional environment.

Looking back on these four months, the relevant person in charge of the International Economic Cooperation Section of ziyang Municipal Bureau of Commerce was particularly impressed by a work meeting. Everyone talks about how to learn from the experience of Shanghai and Shenzhen, and even benchmark some of the world’s most advanced economic indicators-something that we can’t even think about in the past. In her view, the vision of Ziyang, an "inland town", has been significantly expanded and upgraded due to the pioneering area of collaborative reform.

Speaking of the new year, the staff mentioned two things: First, the local government has clearly stated that 2020 will be the "first year" of Ziyang’s collaborative reform pioneer zone, and it is necessary to make great efforts to promote it; Second, as of November 2019, there were 91,000 newly established enterprises in the Sichuan Pilot Free Trade Zone, accounting for less than 1/4,000 of the province’s area, contributing nearly 1/20 of the new enterprises.

In terms of area, the pioneering area of collaborative reform is eight times that of Sichuan Pilot Free Trade Zone. "We are very confident about the development prospects of the pioneering area (collaborative reform)." He said.

The witness said

Looking back on this year, every builder of the Sichuan Pilot Free Trade Zone has enough reason to be proud. In the past year, Sichuan has adhered to the high-point position and high-standard positioning, further promoted the construction of leading projects in the Pilot Free Trade Zone, and made major breakthroughs in institutional innovation and differentiated exploration. A number of state-level open platforms have successfully landed, and the main development indicators rank among the top in the inland pilot free trade zone. In 2020, we will continue to deepen the "three major challenges" of reform and innovation, empowerment and decentralization, and coordinated opening up, and make greater efforts to promote the sharing of free trade dividends, leading Sichuan’s "global opening up" with "global free trade".

—— Chen Youqing, full-time deputy director of the work office of Sichuan Pilot Free Trade Zone

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Great communication

Deepening communication, opening up, upgrading Sichuan’s "circle of friends" and expanding it.

This month, Chengdu has become the focus of global attention. The leaders’ meeting of China, Japan and South Korea was held in a city outside Beijing for the first time, which is also the highest-level national home diplomatic activity hosted by Sichuan since the founding of New China. In the eyes of many people, this grand event is the highlight of opening Sichuan this year.

In addition, this year, Sichuan’s foreign exchanges and cooperation are still remarkable. From mutual visits to friendship cities, from the approval of the establishment of the collar to local cooperation, it has witnessed the expansion of Sichuan’s "circle of friends" bit by bit.

In May, at the Chengdu Panda Asian Food Festival, the consular offices in Chengdu became active protagonists. Nyonya cuisine, Korean cuisine, Thai hot pot … Cuisine has brought Sichuan people closer to these countries, and also enhanced mutual exchanges and cooperation.

In the second half of the year, good news also came frequently. Nepal and Greece were successively approved to set up consular offices in Sichuan, and the number of foreign consular offices approved in Sichuan increased to 19. "It is even more important to give full play to the role of consular offices in Chengdu as a bridge to promote exchanges and cooperation." The relevant person in charge of the Provincial Foreign Affairs Office said.

In Yibin and Luzhou, which are filled with wine, consular officials from 13 countries in Chengdu and Chongqing feel the vitality of Nanchuan City. Mogozhen, Consul General of Poland in Chengdu, said that he would like to introduce Sichuan to more Polish enterprises.

The number of international sister cities is also increasing. The 2019 "Belt and Road" Sichuan International Friendship City Cooperation and Development Forum was held in Chengdu, and delegations from 43 provinces (states) in 32 countries around the world gathered. This is an international friendship city exchange activity with the largest scale, the highest specification and the widest coverage organized by the local government in conjunction with the relevant departments of the central government. Up to now, Sichuan has established 292 pairs of international sister cities and friendly cooperative relations.

Sister city exchanges also focus on the younger generation. Twenty-six Japanese students from Hiroshima Prefecture and Yamanashi Prefecture of Japan came to Bashu during the summer vacation. The warm and warm host families in Sichuan not only left a deep impression on the children, but also planted seeds for them to learn Chinese and understand China culture. Hidehiko Tomzaki, governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan, who came to Sichuan to participate in the commemoration of the 35th anniversary of the establishment of international friendship city relations in Hiroshima Prefecture, Sichuan Province, commented that youth exchanges and environmental protection cooperation are the witness of the friendship between the two sides in the past, and there is great potential for future economic and trade cooperation.

This year, Cambodian King sihamoni, Luxemburg Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport and Public Works Bosch, Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Nepalese Federal Parliament Mahara and other important foreign guests also visited Sichuan successively. This shows that the "prominent south" is open.

At the same time of "please come in", the pace of "going out" is also accelerating.

Spain, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Germany, Israel … These countries have left behind the Sichuan delegation, and have also produced fruitful exchanges and cooperation with Sichuan.

The witness said

I have worked in a foreign affairs post for four years, witnessing that Sichuan has gradually become a highland for opening up in the central and western regions. I can feel the love and expectation of foreign friends for Sichuan, whether I receive foreign guests to visit Sichuan, participate in international events held in Sichuan, or visit abroad. Their enthusiasm for Sichuan has also brought us the fruits of exchange and cooperation one after another.

Under the tide of globalization, the whole world will further strengthen mutual exchanges and cooperation. I look forward to more fruitful results in Sichuan’s opening to the outside world in the future, and I hope I can become one of them.

—— Wang Shiwei, a staff member of the Asian Department of Sichuan Foreign Affairs Office