Seize and Utilize the Two-Year Pilot Window Chongqing Accelerates Exploration of "Chongqing Experience" in Factor Marketization Reform

On September 8, the State Council approved the launch of a comprehensive reform pilot for factor market allocation in 10 regions across the country. Chongqing is the only region selected for a province-wide pilot. Chongqing

On November 23, the Chongqing Municipal Government issued the Action Plan for the Comprehensive Reform Pilot Program of Market-based Allocation of Factors in Chongqing Municipality (hereinafter referred to as the "Action Plan"). The plan outlines 30 key measures aimed at fully stimulating the vitality of market entities and building Chongqing into a comprehensive factor hub that "leads the western China, serves the nation, and connects the world."

On December 1, Chongqing held a policy briefing on the Action Plan. The briefing emphasized that factor marketization reform is a foundational and highly influential reform, one that best embodies the deep integration and efficient synergy between reform and development. It represents a typical "deep-water" reform endeavor. Chongqing will seize and utilize the two-year pilot window to strive for a series of landmark reform achievements, contributing more replicable and scalable "Chongqing Experience" to the national factor marketization reform efforts.

Integrating Technology and Capital

In recent years, Chongqing has consistently strengthened the coordination of the "four aspects" (government, industry, society and enterprise) and the integration of the "four chains" (innovation, industry, capital and talent), aiming to tackle key technological challenges and implement major scientific and technological projects. The municipality's efforts are focused on three main areas:

Establishing enterprises as the guiding force for innovation, ensuring that industry-university-research efforts toward shared goals. Chongqing plans to introduce management measures for major technological innovation and application development projects, providing precise guidance for innovation. A demand collection mechanism will be established to gather insights from key industries and enterprises, mapping out clear pathways for translating research into practical outcomes. Collaborative research projects involving industry-university-research institutions will account for no less than 70% of the total. Additionally, a collaborative mechanism led by enterprises - where they define challenges, provide funding, lead projects, and evaluate results - will be implemented. Projects independently organized by businesses that meet established standards will be recognized as municipal-level major initiatives, eligible for equivalent policy incentives.

Removing barriers in technology transfer to accelerate the journey of laboratory breakthroughs to production lines. Chongqing is advancing the reform of the "five mechanisms" for job-related scientific and technological achievements, including separate management, deferred payment for usage, equity substitution, profit distribution, and professional recognition for technology transfer. These measures support university researchers and students in commercializing their innovations and explore licensing models to empower small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with institutional technologies, speeding up the transition from labs to industry.

Creating a "strong magnetic field" for resource aggregation to inject innovation vitality into industrial development. Chongqing will implement the "Yangtze River Navigation Plan" for science and technology finance, expanding diversified financing channels to tightly integrate technology and capital. Enterprises will be encouraged to form industrial innovation clusters, facilitating the free flow and efficient allocation of innovation resources. Qualified technology companies and government departments will jointly establish innovation-linked funds under the Chongqing Natural Science Foundation, supporting basic research, applied studies, and cutting-edge technology development.

Helping Enterprises Achieve "Access to Quality Data and Effective Data Utilization"

In advancing this reform, Chongqing has consistently adhered to an enterprise-needs-oriented approach. By systematically addressing the pain points and difficulties enterprises face in data usage, the municipality has planned a series of reform measures, primarily focusing on four aspects to deliver a tangible sense of gain for businesses.

Strengthening data supply: ensuring enterprises achieve "Access to Quality Data and Effective Data Utilization". By enhancing the cataloging and aggregation of public data resources, Chongqing is providing enterprises with rich and accessible public data in fields such as culture and tourism, credit services, transportation, education and scientific research, employment, and healthcare. This supports businesses in developing and creating derivative data products. The municipality is also establishing a full-cycle data governance system, reinforcing a closed-loop management process for data issues - from identification and feedback to correction and validation - to ensure data remains dynamic and actionable. Furthermore, Chongqing is promoting the orderly opening and authorized operation of public data in accordance with the law, with pricing based on the principle of "cost recovery and fair profit," effectively reducing the cost for enterprises to utilize public data.

Removing barriers to data circulation: fostering an active and willing ecosystem for enterprises. Through improving the data property rights system, Chongqing grants legal status to data producers and equally protects the data property rights of all entities in accordance with the law. The municipality is refining transaction rules and price monitoring mechanisms to ensure a fair and transparent trading environment. It is also creating a "registration + transaction" one-stop service to enhance trading efficiency. Leveraging the China-Singapore (Chongqing) International Data Channel, Chongqing is helping enterprise data "go global" and "flow in," supporting businesses in expanding into overseas markets and fostering globally competitive data industry clusters.

Unlocking data value, empowering enterprises to innovate and benefit. Chongqing encourages enterprises to establish the role of Chief Data Officer (CDO) to oversee and guide the development and management of data resources. The municipality will implement the "Data Factor ×" initiative to support enterprises in creating data products with core competitiveness. It will deepen "scenario-based investment attraction" and "data-driven investment attraction" strategies, fostering the cultivation and introduction of a cohort of data service providers and third-party professional agencies. Chongqing also encourage collaboration between universities and the industrial sector to jointly develop interdisciplinary talent training systems. Furthermore, it promotes the use of registration certificates in various application scenarios, such as circulation transactions and financing guarantees, to facilitate the conversion of data value. Enterprises are encouraged to conduct quality and value assessments of data assets, and the municipality supports banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions in exploring innovative data assetization services, including data asset pledge financing, insurance, and equity participation.

Building a security barrier, enabling enterprises to use data with confidence and peace of mind. The reform clarifies and strengthens the primary responsibility of third-party compliance service agencies in reviewing the legality and compliance of data. Chongqing will establish a cross-departmental collaborative regulatory mechanism, promoting joint law enforcement efforts by cyberspace affairs, public security, data management, and market supervision departments. The municipality actively advances the construction of trusted data spaces and promotes the adoption of data technologies and solutions such as privacy computing and blockchain, creating a secure and reliable data usage environment.

Addressing the Talent Gap for New Quality Productive Forces Development

The reform of human resource elements closely aligns with the core talent demands of new quality productive forces development. Chongqing has introduced a series of pragmatic measures to help enterprises achieve tangible benefits in three key areas: optimizing talent allocation, enhancing employee skill levels, and strengthening service support.

Precision Talent Recruitment: bridging the Talent Gap for New Quality Productive Forces Development Chongqing will deepen the "Dual Appointment and Dual Employment" talent exchange reform to facilitate a two-way flow of professionals between institutions such as universities, research institutes, and enterprises. Through a pilot reform of special posts, the municipality will enable public institutions, including universities and research organizations, to recruit urgently required specialized talent via specially designated roles. By leveraging the Immigration Service Center platform, Chongqing will implement a "one-stop, parallel processing" system for work and residence permits, cutting the combined application time for these permits by half.

Targeted talent cultivation: aligning with industrial technology and skill demands. Chongqing plans to engage 30 universities from outside the municipality in collaborative enterprise-academy training programs, with a specific focus on emerging industries such as intelligent manufacturing and biomedicine. The municipality aims to cultivate 2,100 master's and doctoral graduates cumulatively by 2027. Additionally, Chongqing will roll out the "New Eight-Grade Skilled Worker" system to broaden career advancement pathways for technical professionals. The municipality will also pilot a two-way recognition mechanism between academic credentials and professional qualification or vocational skill certificates, facilitating the conversion of learning outcomes from both formal and informal education.

Talent retention services: reducing employment costs for enterprises. To lower recruitment expenses, Chongqing will implement initiatives such as the "100 Days, Ten Thousand Jobs" campaign and the "Chongqing Joy · Employment" digital platform, which are designed to match enterprises with suitable human resources efficiently. Concurrently, the municipality will develop specialized industrial parks and markets for human resource services. Furthermore, to support the entire career lifecycle of workers, Chongqing will establish comprehensive service centers offering integrated support - from job placement to vocational training - across all stages of professional development.

Pioneering a "New Model" of Land Supply

Land serves as a crucial pillar in supporting high-quality economic development. In the current initiative, Chongqing is taking a holistic approach focusing on the entire chain of approval, supply, revitalization, and governance. The municipality has innovatively proposed a package of measures, collectively reflecting the reform objective of achieving "Four New" goals.

Streamlining processes to achieve "New Speed" in land-use approval. Chongqing will refine and simplify the preliminary design review procedures involved in the approval process for land, forestry, and grassland use. For certain energy, transportation, and water conservancy projects, the municipality will pilot an innovative "Owner Commitment - Department Confirmation" approach. This allows the approval for land, forestry, and grassland use to commence even before the formal review and approval of preliminary designs. This reform is expected to reduce approval times by 1 to 2 months compared to the previous process. Additionally, Chongqing will explore delegating the approval authority for converting agricultural land to construction use for township and village projects involving single plots not exceeding 15 mu (approximately 2.47 acres) to district and county governments. This delegation is projected to shorten approval processing times by approximately 15 days.

Innovating with diversified combinations to pioneer a "New Model" of land supply. Chongqing plans to explore expanding the application of supply methods such as long-term leasing, lease-before-transfer, and flexible-term conveyance to land designated for profit-oriented public management, public services, and public facilities. The municipality will innovate by promoting mixed-use layouts for functional land types, including industrial, warehousing, R&D, office, and commercial purposes. Furthermore, Chongqing will explore the combined supply of various categories of state-owned natural resources, such as agricultural land and construction land, and support the short-term utilization of existing reserved land and already-supplied, underutilized construction land.

Iteratively optimizing policies to open a "New Phase" in stock land revitalization. Under specific conditions, Chongqing intends to allow the rational functional conversion or exchange of existing commercial and office land. The municipality will support reasonable conversions between different types of industrial land, such as industrial, warehousing, logistics, and scientific research uses. The plan also permits the split registration and transfer of industrial projects, enables industrial and commercial land to flexibly choose renewal terms within the legal maximum conveyance period, and allows historically formed, scattered, and fragmented collective construction land to be integrated and brought to the market through comprehensive land improvement projects.

Strengthening spatial governance to achieve a "New Breakthrough" in service capabilities. Chongqing will explore establishing a spatial governance system encompassing "city - administrative district - zone - block - plot" levels, further optimizing the process for revising and updating detailed planning. The municipality aims to integrate green spaces within urban areas - such as parks, woodlands, and gardens that serve ecological and recreational functions - for unified planning and utilization. For urban renewal projects that include additions to public service functions, Chongqing will implement a "new breakthrough" in land policy: under permissible spatial conditions, the municipality will provide building area support equivalent to approximately 15% of the existing floor area or the originally approved floor area ratio.

Holistically Building a Healthy Financial Ecosystem

The defining feature of this reform plan is its systematic approach, aiming to construct a healthy financial ecosystem characterized by "smooth pathways, targeted support, and diversified funding sources." Specifically, efforts will focus on three key areas.

Focusing on "Pathways" to unblock capital flow bottlenecks. Externally, Chongqing will continue expanding the cross-border use of the renminbi. Through innovative cross-border financial measures such as the multilateral central bank digital currency bridge, the China-Singapore bilateral digital yuan settlement pilot, and the use of RMB swap funds, the municipality aims to make cross-border settlements more convenient and cost-effective for enterprises. Domestically, with a focus on the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, Chongqing will innovate models such as railway bill financing and establish online financial service platforms to enhance the efficiency of capital flows in corridor trade.

Focus on "Targeted Delivery" to guide capital toward key areas. The core objective is to ensure that "funds are directed where they are most needed" by prioritizing three key areas: First, Chongqing will deepen reforms in green transition finance. Leveraging digital and intelligent platforms, the municipality will enhance capabilities in intelligent identification and accounting to steer funds toward supporting green and low-carbon transformations. Second, it will strengthen technology finance by advancing data sharing and developing a "financial brain" system. This initiative aims to help banks better "understand and assess" the innovation value of technology enterprises, thereby addressing the financing challenges of asset-light companies. Third, the municipality will enhance inclusive finance by promoting financial products such as "credit loans" and "cash-flow-based loans." This will enable enterprises to secure financing based on their stable transaction histories.

Focus on "Diversified Supply" to broaden capital sources. For start-ups, the municipality will provide early-stage financing services through regional equity markets. In collaboration with local governments and the western base of stock exchanges, it will intensify efforts in enterprise outreach and offer "one-on-one" guidance to companies preparing for listing applications. For growth-stage enterprises, Chongqing will accelerate the implementation of the "Qianlima Action" to facilitate IPO financing. The municipality will dynamically screen high-quality candidates for listing, reinforcing full-process support and resource guarantees for enterprises seeking to go public.

Source: Chongqing Daily