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Ten years after the cessation of administrative relations between Sichuan Province and Chongqing Municipality, the two west China giants have decided to resume cooperation, this time economically.

 

The two local governments signed a cooperation agreement on Monday, pledging to build an economic zone, the "Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Zone," with two mega cities, Chengdu, capital of Sichuan, and Chongqing, at the forefront of what is aimed to be a new economic growth pole in China.

 

Last year, the combined GDP of Sichuan and Chongqing crossed the 1.21 trillion yuan (US$156.6 billion) mark, making Chengdu-Chongqing area one of the strongest economic regions in China, along with the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area, and northeast China regions.

 

The economic zone was given state backing at the end of last year when the State Council approved the 11th Five-year Plan for Western Development, which underlines the importance of developing the zone.

 

Monday's agreement was signed by Chongqing Mayor Wang Hongju and Sichuan Governor Jiang Jufeng.

 

The agreement outlines areas of cooperation, suggestions for expediting infrastructure construction in the zone, plans for regional market integration, guidance for industry division and cooperation, and city cluster zoning.

 

In terms of infrastructure, work will be focused on constructing point-to-point thoroughfares between Chongqing and Chengdu and loop-line transportation within the zone.

 

Also on the agenda are facilities for major equipment manufacturing, the high-tech industry, clean energy, national defense scientific research and farm produce processing.

 

The two governments have also pledged to cooperate in the building of an ecological barrier in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River. To this end, joint efforts will be made to secure state funding for eco-friendly construction and to set up an ecological compensation mechanism.

 

The Chengdu-Chongqing economic zone will encompass Chongqing, Chengdu, 14 cities along the major expressways, railways and golden waterways and the economic circle around Chongqing, which is made up of 23 counties and districts.

 

In addition to Chengdu and Chongqing, which will be taking the lead in the development push, other beneficiaries of the new economic zone include 27 other cities in the immediate vicinity such as Mianyang and Fuling. When the economic zone is completed, it will be the largest city belt in the western region.

 

Party and government officials attending the signing ceremony were upbeat about the cooperation.

 

Party Chief of Chongqing Wang Yang said strengthening cooperation is the shared historical responsibility of the two western giants.

 

"The Chongqing and Sichuan economies are compatible and complementary. Although we are separated in term of administration, we are one region in regard to economy," he said.

 

"Development trends and historical opportunities urge us to eliminate the 'one grows, the other declines' mentality to aim for a win-win scenario."

 

Sichuan provincial party chief Du Qinglin agreed. He said cooperation is conducive to obtaining state policy support. It also promotes industry advancements and fuels the development of market mechanisms.

 

In 2004, Sichuan and Chongqing signed a "One plus Six" agreement – "One" being the framework agreement on the development of the economic zone in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, and "Six" referring to the areas of cooperation namely transportation, tourism, agriculture, public security, culture and TV broadcasting.

 

By the end of last year, mutual investment had reached 56.33 billion yuan (US$7.29 billion). Among western provinces, Sichuan is the largest investor in Chongqing, and Chongqing ranks second in the country in terms of investment in Sichuan.

 

(China.org.cn by Yuan Fang, April 5, 2007)