Chengdu Formulates New Economic Development Blueprint that Aims for the Nation's Top Echelon

CHENGDU, China, Nov. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- "By 2022, output of new economy shall exceed RMB 500 billion and value of new economy shall be ranked in the nation's top echelon". On November 9, the Chengdu New Economic Development Conference was held and Chengdu's strategic targets of new economic development were proposed.

Since American magazine BusinessWeek came up with the idea in 1996, "new economy" has swept the globe like an unstoppable storm, leaving reshaped economic structures and changed state-level competitiveness in its wake.

In China, growth of new economy has shifted into high gear and for the first time in 2016 "new economy" was included in the Government Work Report. General Secretary Xi Jinping's strategic deployments in "implementing new developmental concepts and establishing modernized economic system" incorporated the key requirements, viewpoints and methods in accelerating the expansion of the new economy.

In terms of developing new economy, Chengdu is more confident than ever. At present, the total output, development index and competitiveness of Chengdu's new economy respectively rank fourth, sixth and seventh nationwide, while the city's big data, cloud computing, digital finance and other representative new economy sectors are listed among the forefront in China.

In April this year, the report from the 13th Chengdu Municipal Congress of the Communist Party of China clearly stipulated the demands of earnest implementation of innovative developmental concepts and establishment of an innovation-driven pioneering city. Chengdu shall persist in utilizing innovation as the number one engine in driving growth, thereby basically forming a "dual driven" innovation and creativity new climate comprised of comprehensive innovative reform experiments and establishment of free trade experiment area. Chengdu shall speed up its effort in creating an innovation-oriented economic system and development model, thereby basically forming a national innovation-type city and an innovation and entrepreneurship center with international clout. In July, the Chengdu National Central City Industry Development Conference proposed the need to ensure cultivation of new economy and new driving force, so as to better harness comparative advantages, deepen the execution of innovation-driven and integrated military-civilian development strategy, emphatically develop new economy, capitalize on innovation and entrepreneurship of the masses, and propel breakthrough growth in science and technology small and micro enterprises. Steps shall be taken in innovation technology key factors, including measures to strengthen innovation of source of technology key factors, reinforce coordinated supply of technology key factors, fortify concentrated commercialization of technology key factors, and underpin the cultivation of share economy and digital economy, so as to inject new energy conducive to the reformation and upgrading of traditional industries and the transformative development of the city.

In September, the Chengdu New Economy Development Research Institute was founded, and new economy sectors leaders across the country and representatives of alumni and teachers of University of Electronic Science and Technology of China gathered in Chengdu to discuss grand schemes for the future of new economy and to find new fuel for powering the growth of great industries. On November 9, the Chengdu New Economic Development Conference was held and the city explicitly demanded: stay abreast of the latest advancements, stay bold in creativity, and stay proactive in exploring paths to realize growth in the new economy. In addition, comparative advantages such as abundance of scientific and technological talents resources, massive size of consumption applications and unique regional cultural legacies have bestowed the most fertile soil for the progression of new economy in Chengdu.

"We also need to recognize that there are plenty of challenges and difficulties in the course of Chengdu's new economic development". At the Conference, chief leaders of the city admitted "Chengdu is under pressure from both shortage of resources and restriction in environment capacity. Taking old routes will not achieve new objectives, while developing at low levels will not be accepted by the people, which mandate everyone to join hands and work together as a single entity that will remain steadfast in developing new economy in order to blaze a new path that will lead to sustainable development for the city.

Raising the scope to a nationwide perspective, the cradles and hot zones of new economy have been formed and a new economic development climate has shaped, whereby metropolises like Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Hangzhou take helm and certain regional central cities compete to keep up and surpass.

In the face of global growth, only reformers will advance, only innovators will become strong, and only reform innovators will win. In the future, Chengdu will insist in using new technology as driving force, using new organizations as main entities, using new industries as support, using new business formats as engine and using new models as breakthrough, with emphasis on developing the "six new economic forms," as in digital economy, smart economy, green economy, creative economy, flow economy and sharing economy, so as to establish a new economic industries structure with distinct Chengdu characteristics. By 2022, the goal is to accumulate more than 100,000 new economy enterprises in the city including at least seven unicorn companies and over 60 potential unicorns, as well as surpassing the 280,000 mark in the size of science and technology start-up participants.

SOURCE Chengdu New Economic Development Conference Committee