Chapter 41 13. Chongqing, the Capital of the West
The gateway to the west - the metropolis of Chongqing.
Chongqing, a municipality directly under the Central Government, is 2,551 kilometers away from Beijing (2 hours' flight), and it is perfectly integrated with the unique magnificent scenery of the western mountainous area, so it is called "Mountain City".
Because the roads in this metropolis are too inflected and undulating, bicycles are rarely seen on the streets of Chongqing!Half a million people come to this metropolis every year (the total population of Guadeloupe or Luxembourg), and there are more than 32 million inhabitants, which is equivalent to the population of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.The suburbs of Chongqing alone have a population of 25 million...
Chongqing - a new commercial channel?There is a duty-free zone here, and it is an important crossroads between east and west China.
This modern metropolis is not well-known in the world, but it is developing rapidly.According to its investment plan, Chongqing will extend the airstrip of its airport to accommodate the arrival of large passenger planes.
165 foreign companies, including 71 French companies, have made their home in Chongqing due to favorable taxes, raw materials and cheap labor.
Located on the banks of the world's largest artificial lake, the industrial city hopes to attract 10 billion euros in foreign investment by 2015.
Many large French companies have made strategic decisions to take root in Chongqing, such as Carrefour, Lafarge, and Suez Environnement.
Electronics maker Foxconn International Holdings and global computer maker Hewlett-Packard (HP) are planning a joint investment of more than 2 billion euros to build a notebook computer production plant on the outskirts of Chongqing.
Chongqing has decided to give the two companies a 15% tax break, which is 10% lower than the usual tax rate.This is the fifth major investment in the southwestern Chinese city by Hewlett-Packard Group (which already has a home in Shanghai) in three years.
Chongqing is also the center of the world's motorcycle production, which accounted for 16 percent of GDP in 2011.Skyscrapers line the river port adjacent to the Three Gorges Dam hydroelectric plant.
With its modern infrastructure, well-planned industrial parks, a large number of residential areas and abundant energy, Chongqing will surely become a pioneer in the development of western China.
It seems that nothing can stop Chongqing's rapid development!
Today, Chongqing is one of nine experimental reform pilot areas in China.Shenyang, the capital of Liaoning province (adjacent to North Korea) in northeast China, is another example.However, the first reform pilot area is in Shanghai, which is the center of China's economy and finance.
China's western development must be successful, just like the success of special economic zones, because they all have unlimited opportunities.
Just like the development of the United States to the west, the capital necessary for industrial development comes from the country's active business.Must be like China, have a pioneering spirit.The United States benefited from the European crisis, and China also gained opportunities from the economic and financial turmoil in 2009 and 2010.
In this era of economic vitality, the western region is facing new opportunities.
However, contrary to what is often believed, the Chinese don't work like "slaves" any more, even though these jobs seemed very hard in the past!It is true that there are still areas for improvement, such as implementing a stricter working hours system, paying more attention to workers' work safety, and so on.But everything is changing fast, and one trip to China is all it takes to prove it!
China will continue to develop rapidly, and the living standards of the Chinese people will quickly approach that of Europe.