City banks on foreign trade to aid growth

Chongqing, the economic hub of western China, has pledged to make greater use of its well-connected transport network to boost imports and exports, including its fast-growing new energy vehicle sector.

Deputies to the National People's Congress from the Chongqing delegation made the remarks on Friday at an open-day event as the country's top legislature holds its annual session in Beijing.

Yuan Jiajun, Party chief of Chongqing, said the city is the only comprehensive transport hub in western China that integrates rail, road, river and air transport.

It is also the country's first city to host all five types of national logistics hubs — river port, land port, airport, production-service and commercial-service hubs.

"As a hub, the key is to fully play our role in connecting China with the world," Yuan said, citing Chongqing's expanding transport links with Southeast Asia and Europe.

Chongqing serves as the logistics center of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, which now reaches 586 ports in 127 countries and regions worldwide, added Yuan, who is also an NPC deputy. The corridor, a key logistics network linking China's western regions with global markets, includes rail-sea intermodal transport, international railway services and cross-border road transport, covering 13 provincial-level regions and two cities.

The city has also launched fast freight train services that depart China via the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, cross the Caspian Sea and Black Sea, and reach Turkiye, extending coverage to North Africa, Yuan said. The full journey takes less than 25 days, about 10 days faster than traditional transport routes.

In addition to railway links, the Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport currently operates 59 international routes connecting 34 countries and regions, he said.

For a hub city like Chongqing, the most important task is to integrate into the global economy through transport, Yuan said.

According to the senior official, the city's total foreign trade last year grew 12 percent year-on-year. Trade with ASEAN and Europe rose 13 percent and 10 percent, respectively, with ASEAN becoming Chongqing's largest trading partner.

Trade with emerging markets such as Latin America, Africa and Central Asia increased by 22 percent, 39 percent and 92 percent, respectively.

Yuan said Chongqing should use foreign trade to expand exports of key industrial products, especially automobiles, and thereby drive industrial growth.

As the city builds itself into China's "capital of new energy vehicles", Chongqing-made cars have entered 164 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Mexico and Thailand.

Data from the Chongqing municipal government shows that in 2025 the city produced 2.79 million vehicles, ranking first among Chinese cities. Of that total, 1.3 million were new energy vehicles, up 36 percent year-on-year.

Zhu Huarong, an NPC deputy from the Chongqing delegation and chairman of automaker Changan Automobile, said Chongqing has seized a major opportunity in the auto industry and industrial transformation. He said local mid — to high-end new energy vehicle brands such as Avatr, Deepal and Seres now sell at an average price of 240,000 yuan ($34,000), adding that the figure is somewhat higher than the average level in developed countries.

"That is remarkable," Zhu said, adding that it shows Chinese auto brands are steadily gaining stronger pricing power overall.

jiangchenglong@chinadaily.com.cn