Sichuan, Chongqing embrace coordinated high-quality development as reform deepens

Sichuan Province and neighboring Chongqing Municipality in southwestern China are emerging as dynamic regions in opening up and high-quality development as comprehensive reform deepens.

The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) made systematic arrangements for improving the implementation of a regional coordinated development strategy and proposed to push forward the construction of the economic circle between Chongqing and Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, in depth and in a practical manner.

Among the fruitful results of the economic circle construction, the Sichuan-Chongqing Gaozhu New Area, located at the junction of Sichuan and Chongqing, is the first inter-provincial new area in China.

The government service hall of the new area, jointly operated by Sichuan and Chongqing, offers a one-stop platform for more than 100 services, providing great convenience for enterprises and residents in the region.

At present, the number of enterprises settled in the new area has doubled compared to when it was established in 2020, with an automotive equipment industry cluster being formed, demonstrating the benefits of the economic zone.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has given important instructions on many occasions on the coordinated development of the two places, and highlighted that the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle is a major strategic decision made by the CPC Central Committee, and the two places should work closely together to continuously improve their development capabilities.

As a result, Sichuan and Chongqing have accelerated the gathering of strategic scientific and technological forces and consolidated industrial foundations in various sectors.

They currently share more than 13,000 large-scale instruments and pieces of equipment, have planned and built 11 major national scientific and technological infrastructures, carried out 219 original and disruptive technology research projects, and signed technology contracts exceeding 280 billion yuan in value (about 39 billion U.S. dollars).

In the first half of this year, Sichuan and Chongqing implemented 300 major co-construction projects, with an investment of more than 240 billion yuan (about 33.5 billion U.S. dollars).

Sichuan and Chongqing are accelerating the construction of a modern industrial system, jointly building an important national advanced manufacturing base and four trillion-yuan level industrial clusters of automobiles, electronic information, equipment manufacturing, and specialty consumer goods.

Since the beginning of this year, the automobile industry in Sichuan and Chongqing has continued to expand and is now the third largest automobile industry cluster nationwide, with 45 complete vehicle companies and more than 1,600 supporting suppliers. Sichuan and Chongqing's automobile production volume together accounted for 11 percent of the national total, with over 80 percent of it supported independently by the region on auto parts.

"We have actively responded to the strategic deployment of the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing twin-city economic circle, seized new opportunities for the coordinated development of the automobile industries in the two places, given full play to Mianyang City's unique advantages in scientific and technological talents, electronic information, and high-end equipment, and helped accelerate the formation of a high-level research and development and manufacturing base for new energy and intelligent connected vehicles in Sichuan and Chongqing," said Wang Changfei, chief of the automobile industry section at the Mianyang Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology of Sichuan Province.

The Sichuan-Chongqing integrated development has also fostered a better quality of life for local residents, building inter-provincial transportation infrastructures and launching 311 joint services covering matters of public concern, such as employment, social security, medical treatment, and provident funds.

The processing time for "one-stop" household registration transfer across provinces and cities in Sichuan and Chongqing has been shortened to as fast as 10 minutes, more than 70 percent of the major medical institutions in Sichuan and Chongqing have achieved mutual communication and recognition of electronic health cards, and 28,500 designated medical institutions for cross-provincial medical insurance settlement have been opened.

Six railway corridors have been built between Sichuan and Chongqing, the construction of four high-speed railway routes linking major cities in Chongqing and Sichuan is underway, and 21 expressways have been built or are under construction in the region.

The Bazhong-Nanchong high-speed railway was officially opened for operation in June, shortening the travel time from Sichuan's Bazhong City to Chengdu and Chongqing to around two hours.

"It is very convenient for us to travel to Chengdu. Whether it is driving on the highway or taking the high-speed railway. There are several train stations nearby to choose from. We can book train tickets just one hour in advance on our mobile phone. The development of transportation is very fast," said Liu Hanming, a resident in Chongqing.

Chongqing and Sichuan will empower each other and develop in the same direction to accelerate the construction of an important economic center with national influence, a science and technology innovation center, a new frontier of reform and opening up, and a livable place with high-quality life, according to local officials.

"We will thoroughly study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important instructions and requirements, focus on the reform tasks deployed by the Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee and push forward the deepening and expansion of regional integration to a deeper level and broader areas. We will accelerate the creation of landmark reform achievements that are distinctive to Sichuan and Chongqing and have national influence, and make new contributions from Sichuan and Chongqing to the overall national reform cause," said Mi Benjia, deputy director of Chongqing Municipal Development and Reform Commission.

Sichuan, Chongqing embrace coordinated high-quality development as reform deepens

Peace talks on the settlement of the Russia-Ukraine conflict require equality, autonomous negotiators and trust, said Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin on Friday, on the sidelines of the 11th Beijing Xiangshan Forum, which was held from Thursday to Saturday.

Khrenin talked about the military relations between Belarus and China, and the Ukraine issue.

Before attending the second plenary session of the forum, Khrenin said he hoped to expound Belarus' views and positions on the international situation in an exclusive interview with China Central Television (CCTV).

"I hope to expound our views and position on the increasingly complex situation, globally on the whole or just about Belarus. I want to expound our views on how the international community develops and how all parties seek common ground," he said.

Noting that China and Belarus have strengthened military cooperation since they established diplomatic ties 32 years ago, Khrenin said he was deeply impressed with the "Eagle Assault 2024" joint exercise between the two countries in July this year.

"I noticed some details in the exercise, and what's the most important is that the Chinese and Belarusian servicemen in one group and one operation didn't need any translator but could understand each other. It shows that our armies share tacit understanding, which is very important," he said.

Khrenin also recalled the moment that the guard of honor of the Chinese People's Liberation Army participated in the parade marking the 80th anniversary of Belarus' liberation from Nazi invaders.

"I thank Chinese leaders for dispatching troops to Belarus on the occasion of such an important festival. The Belarusian people warmly welcomed them just like greeting their family members," he said.

Khrenin also explained why Belarus has decided to establish a system against unmanned aerial vehicles.

"The Ukraine crisis has shown how modes of operation and forms of war are changing, so we are in full swing to work in this direction because we know such weapons may target us too," he said.

With the Ukraine crisis entering its third year, Khrenin put forward three conditions for resolving the Russia-Ukraine conflict through peace talks.

"It is a pity that we haven't seen any sign of the easing of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but we can see that it is not Ukraine's independent decision. Of course, the main beneficiary in the conflict is the West, especially the United States who does not want to lose its hegemony. However, they don't understand that the current world has become multipolar, so it is always possible to resolve conflict through peace talks. Meanwhile, rigid conditions are needed to conduct such negotiations today. One of the important conditions is equality, the second is the autonomy of negotiators, which Ukraine doesn't have yet, and the third is trust," he said.

Initiated in 2006, the Beijing Xiangshan Forum is a high-level security and defense forum in the Asia-Pacific region with significant international influence.

Peace talks on Russia-Ukraine conflict need equality, autonomous negotiators, trust: Belarusian defense minister