The 7th WCIFIT Highlights New Momentum for Western China's Development

The exhibition hall for new intelligent connected new energy vehicles saw a continuous stream of visitors, while agile robot dogs capable of home monitoring and human interaction, along with multi-rotor drones designed for complex environments, drew widespread attention... On May 22, the 7^th Western China International Fair for Investment and Trade (WCIFIT) opened in Chongqing, showcasing a range of locally developed "cutting-edge tech" products over its four-day duration.

"By establishing medical-industrial transformation bases with institutions like Chongqing University Cancer Hospital and jointly applying for innovative medical demonstration projects and tackling technical challenges, our smart healthcare products have not only reached industry frontiers but also expanded beyond the Chongqing market", said Zhou Xinzhi, a marketing representative from Chongqing Xishan Science & Technology Co., Ltd., which is headquartered in Liangjiang New Area. He noted that several of the company's products exhibited at WCIFIT have achieved complete domestic substitution and are being exported overseas, thanks to self-developed core technologies and 80% of components being independently researched, produced, and marketed.

In recent years, Chongqing's "33618" modern manufacturing cluster has steadily enhanced its capabilities, emphasizing coordination across four dimensions: government, society, industry, and enterprises, while promoting the integration of four key chains: industrial, innovation, capital, and talent. Riding the wave of advanced manufacturing and modern services, a growing number of "domestically substituted" and "industry-leading" breakthroughs have emerged, driving economic and trade development.

"After overcoming critical 'chokepoint' technological barriers, we successfully applied fully magnetic levitation technology to the development and application of core components in life sciences and semiconductors, resolving issues such as blood damage and thrombosis commonly associated with traditional artificial hearts", explained Li Qilue, Deputy General Manager of Chongqing Kaici Medical Technology Co., Ltd., at the Bishan District exhibition booth. He noted that breakthroughs in core technologies have reduced the price of their self-developed products to half that of imported equivalents, not only saving patients' medical expenses but also enabling the company to expand its market share.

Focusing on the intelligent valve industry, Dianjiang County in Chongqing has attracted over RMB10 billion in investment since 2023 to establish a western China intelligent valve industrial base. Starting with the consolidation of inefficient idle assets through "replacing old growth drivers with new ones", the county has progressively built a complete industrial chain encompassing raw material supply, component processing, and complete valve production and sales. A series of intelligent valve products integrating electric and explosion-proof features have been rapidly developed and launched, marking the initial formation of a high-end intelligent valve industrial chain that drives industrial upgrading and regional development.

"With an annual output of about 7 tons of fresh lemons, we have already accessed markets in more than 30 countries and regions, with plans to further export diversified processed products like lemon juice and lemon candies", said Dai Xiaoqiang, General Manager of Chongqing Huida Lemon Technology Group Co., Ltd. located in Tongnan District, Chongqing. He noted that through measures such as on-site customs services and locally established supervision warehouses, perishable agricultural products that "can't wait" are now being exported at a speed that "doesn't require waiting".

With dedicated efforts to polish this golden brand of lemons, Tongnan District has in recent years established a virus-free seedling center at the production source while creating a lemon product R&D base downstream, increasing the added value of lemons by more than tenfold. Simultaneously, through the Sichuan-Chongqing Lemon Industry Alliance, Tongnan is collaborating with multiple neighboring cities and districts across Sichuan and Chongqing to develop a 1-million-mu national core lemon production area with an output of 1.2 million tons. "We're learning from Sichuan's long-established lemon cultivation expertise while complementing each other's strengths in processing, R&D and sales. We're confident about jointly expanding the market", said Dai Xiaoqiang.

More than agricultural cooperation, against the backdrop of the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle construction, Chongqing and Chengdu - two megacities - are mutually empowering each other through coordinated development. Their collaboration aims to establish a nationally influential economic hub and innovation center, forming a vital growth engine in western China that drives high-quality development nationwide. Numerous Sino-foreign cooperative projects and joint ventures continue to inject vitality into the twin-city economic circle.

"Through WCIFIT, I've witnessed the rapid rise of industrial dynamism and openness to international cooperation in China's western region", said Chan Foong Hin, Deputy Minister of Plantation and Commodities of Malaysia, attending the WCIFIT for the first time. He expressed hopes to deepen practical collaboration with Chongqing and other western cities via the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, which connects western China with ASEAN nations, leveraging complementary strengths for mutual benefit.

Source: Guangming Daily