"Chongqing Services" Builds Global Platform, Unleashing "Invest in China" and "Western" Attraction

▲Conference site (Photograph courtesy of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce)

Hu Henghua, Deputy Secretary of the Chongqing Municipal Party Committee and Mayor of Chongqing Municipal Government, stated that Chongqing is stepping up efforts to build a pioneer zone for the development of modern service industry in inland areas. In keeping with the trends of manufacturing servitization, service globalization, and regional integration, the municipality has taken such initiatives as vigorously developing modern producer services, proactively aligning with high-standard international economic and trade rules, and expanding service trade at a high level. To date, Chongqing has been involved in formulating and revising international standards.

In his address, Sheng Qiuping, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Commerce, noted that the comprehensive pilot and demonstration program for expanding opening up in the service sector constitutes a key measure to advance high-standard opening up. To date, 20 provinces, cities and municipalities nationwide have engaged in innovative explorations. The pilot demonstration program has unveiled 16 pilot plans across 8 rounds, with over 1,400 pilot tasks, and the innovative achievements promoted nationwide have reached 10 batches with over 200 items, increasingly playing a role in testing systems for the country and seeking development for localities.

Pilot acceleration injects a "strong engine" into development

▲Conference site (Photograph courtesy of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce)

In April this year, the State Council approved the Work Plan for Accelerating the Comprehensive Pilot Program for Expanding Opening Up of the Service Sector, which, in line with the needs of further deepening reforms across the board, advancing Chinese path to modernization, supporting the development of a modern economic system, and fostering new quality productive forces, has endowed the new round of the comprehensive pilot program with fresh content and tasks.

▲Zhan Yong, Deputy Director General of the Department of Foreign Investment Administration under the Ministry of Commerce, provides an interpretation of the policy (Photograph courtesy of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce)

At the event, Zhan Yong, Deputy Director General of the Department of Foreign Investment Administration under the Ministry of Commerce, elaborated on this policy, emphasizing the need to accelerate and intensify efforts in the pilot program for expanding opening-up in the service sector. He also analyzed the highlights and distinctive features of the work plan, which focus on innovation, prioritize key areas, adopt a problem-oriented approach, and adapt measures to local conditions.

As the first city in central and western China to operate a comprehensive pilot program for expanding opening up of the service industry, Chongqing has earned recognition from the Ministry of Commerce for its innovative practices. Sheng Qiuping noted that since being approved as a pilot city, Chongqing has anchored its efforts in national strategies such as the Chengdu-Chongqing economic circle and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, strengthened top-level design, promoted institutional innovation, and delivered a number of landmark projects. As Chongqing further optimizes its open environment and gathers innovative resources, it will provide more win-win opportunities for investors, including foreign-funded enterprises.

▲Tang Weidong, Deputy Director of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce, provides a detailed account of the results achieved in Chongqing's pilot program for opening up of the service industry (Photograph courtesy of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce)

Benefiting from its commitment in recent years to developing modern service industries as a key support for advancing high-quality development and integrating into the new development paradigm, Chongqing has steadily expanded the opening up of its service industry and accelerated the development of a high-quality, efficient new service industry system. Tang Weidong, Deputy Director of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce, gave a detailed explanation of the achievements made in Chongqing's pilot program for opening up the service sector. These encompass the elevation of the service sector's opening up and development to a "new stage," the attainment of "new breakthroughs" in reform and innovation in key fields, and the cultivation of a "new ecosystem" for the service sector's opening up and development environment. He noted that moving forward, Chongqing will focus on key areas and keep advancing high-standard opening up in the service sector; pursue opening up by aligning with international economic and trade rules; enhance industrial linkage and innovation to advance the integrated development of advanced manufacturing and modern service industries; serve market demand to enable the free and convenient flow of high-end factor resources in the service sector.

Shared opportunities, opening-up with greater global "magnetic attraction"

▲Representatives of participating enterprises offer insights into global opportunities (Photograph courtesy of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce)

Against the backdrop of global service sector opening up trends and opportunities, on-site enterprise representatives actively shared their development experience and jointly explored avenues for cooperation.

Dr. Hans-Peter Friedrich, former Vice Chairman of German Federal Parliament (Bundestag) and Chairman of Eastern Germany Committee for International Economic Cooperation, noted that eastern Germany has emerged as a pivotal hub for green technologies, digital transformation, medical technology, energy efficiency enhancement, and AI applications, with local enterprises forming an ideal complement to Chongqing. The Eastern Germany Committee for International Economic Cooperation will work to facilitate business missions, industry summits, joint research initiatives, and the development of physical laboratories between the two countries, while advancing discussions on artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure, smart manufacturing, and modern healthcare through business forums.

Multinational enterprises have gone further by offering proven insights from frontline practice. Shi Shuai, Vice President of Roland Berger Global Partner and Greater China, noted that through precision-oriented opening up and institutional innovation, the service sector will accelerate its shift toward high-end, digital, and international development, with marked technology spillover effects in telecommunications, healthcare, and financial sectors. Representatives from industry-leading enterprises including Baker Hughes, Dun & Bradstreet, Infineon, and SABIC shared their successful transformation experiences, focusing on themes such as digital transformation in the industrial sector, supply chain information services, the value of semiconductor digitalization and decarbonization, and technological innovation. They also expressed eagerness to engage in in-depth cooperation with Chongqing to share in development opportunities.

Notably, SABIC has been expanding its footprint in Chongqing since 2012. Wang Qiang, the company's Vice President and Greater China President, noted that Chongqing has served as a vital platform for robust exchanges and collaborative growth between Chinese and foreign enterprises.

▲On-site enterprise exchanges (Photograph courtesy of the Chongqing Municipal Commission of Commerce)

Moreover, a closed-door session on logistics and standardization services was held in parallel during the event, focusing on digital upgrading and standard certification within logistics and supply chains. Foreign enterprises including Project44 and MOSOLF, alongside Chongqing-based institutions and companies such as Chongqing Institute of Quality & Standardization and ShaBro, shared their experiences and outcomes. This has offered robust support for fostering in-depth exchanges and cooperation between Chinese and foreign enterprises, as well as advancing the further high-quality development of Chongqing's service sector.

Shape a new landscape for service sector opening up and usher in a new era of win-win cooperation. Hu Henghua noted that Chongqing stands ready to share strategic opportunities, and in advancing the coordinated development of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, it will expand service sectors, enrich service scenarios, and jointly pursue opening up and cooperation. It will continue to carve out new dimensions for service cooperation in digital economy, international logistics, biomedicine, and cross-border financing, work in concert to elevate the development quality of the modern service industry, better support the transformation and upgrading of advanced manufacturing, and nurture new drivers of high-quality development through integration and connectivity.

Source: China (Chongqing) Pilot Free Trade Zone