Chengdu, the capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, has been advancing its economic development under the "stress test" of the COVID-19 pandemic, thanks to its efforts to develop the new economy as a driver for city growth.

 

As of the end of 2020, the number of new economy enterprises in Chengdu had reached 433,000, a year-on-year increase of 18.3 percent. Of these enterprises, eight have been listed or approved to be listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange's sci-tech innovation board, according to the Chengdu New Economic Development Commission.

 

A series of breakthroughs have been achieved in Chengdu's new economy sector since the beginning of this year.

 

The world's first high-temperature superconducting high-speed maglev engineering prototype and its test line were launched on Jan 13 in Chengdu. The vehicle's design speed is 620 kilometers per hour, which is expected to set a new speed record for land transportation in an atmospheric environment.

 

 

The first independently developed hydrogen fuel-cell hybrid locomotive in China, jointly developed by Southwest Jiaotong University based in Chengdu and CRRC Datong, rolled off the production line on Jan 27. The key components of the locomotive were also manufactured in Chengdu.

 

Jing Chao, CEO of Aerofugia Technology (Chengdu) Co Ltd, a subsidiary of China's Geely Technology Group, said at the 2021 Mobile World Congress on Feb 24 that the company will establish a joint venture with Volocopter, a Germany-based flying-car startup.

 

The newly established company will be headquartered in Chengdu. The two sides will jointly develop a new generation of products for urban air traffic solutions and comprehensively promote the development of urban air traffic in Chinese cities.

 

Chengdu has been focused on the development of the new economy since 2017 to cultivate new driving forces for city development. It has built a solid foundation for developing new economy enterprises by providing support covering policies, technology, talents and finance.

 

 

"Whether in aspects of talents, technology or finance, Chengdu possesses good enough conditions for the development of companies like us," said Liu Shanshan, operation director of visual effects company MOREVFX's Chengdu branch.

 

Ren Bin, chairman and general manager of Chengdu JOUAV Automation Tech Co Ltd, said the company has grown from a few people to a team of hundreds of people thanks to the opportunities Chengdu has provided to new economy enterprises.

 

Chengdu is striving to strengthen research on cutting-edge technologies such as frontier medical science, blockchain, energy and the internet. It also aims to speed up the cultivation of new business forms and industries by fostering the development of the new economy in fields such as uncrewed aerial vehicles, big data, artificial intelligence, biopharmaceuticals and 5G, according to officials at the Chengdu New Economic Development Commission.

 

The city is scheduled to hold 10 new economy-themed release conferences this year starting from March, launching 100 new productions and 100 new scenarios for consumption or product application each month. The Chengdu New Economic Development Commission will also release a series of city opportunity lists to offer supply and demand information.