Mr. Wu's Insights on the WCIFIT: Chongqing Leverages Finance as a Pivot to Elevate Corridor Value

The New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor should not be simplistically interpreted as merely an international logistics route; rather, it ought to be regarded as a strategic vehicle for optimizing China's regional development framework and deepening international economic cooperation.

From this vantage point, it becomes clear why Chongqing is not content with merely using financial innovation to "foot the bill" for infrastructure. Instead, through forward-looking top-level planning, the municipality is committed to building an efficient and sustainable economic ecosystem around the corridor.

Chongqing's approach goes beyond constructing the corridor itself - it actively cultivates a corridor-driven economy. To this end, the municipality has embedded tailored financial services into every segment of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, spanning upstream production, midstream transportation, downstream distribution, and end-to-end risk management. By deploying supply chain finance, innovative trade financing, green finance, and other instruments, Chongqing has effectively reduced costs across the entire chain while enhancing overall operational efficiency and value-added potential.

More significantly, by establishing industrial guidance funds, Chongqing attracts and nurtures high-value-added industries along the corridor. Simultaneously, it employs fintech to elevate the corridor's digitalization and intelligence, facilitating the efficient flow and value appreciation of data and other modern production factors. It is no exaggeration to say that Chongqing's financial innovations have propelled the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor beyond mere physical connectivity toward a state of value symbiosis, transforming this international artery into an economic corridor deeply integrated with information flows, capital flows, and industrial chains.

Conversely, Chongqing's model - using finance as a lever to upgrade the corridor's holistic value - has reinforced its status as the Western Financial Center and amplified its influence within the global supply chain system.

Evidently, through pioneering financial practices, Chongqing has imbued the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor with renewed significance. The dynamism unleashed by this "financial catalyst" has not only smoothed the pathway for China's western regions to connect with the world but also charted a course for leveraging financial innovation to spearhead strategic corridor development in service of national priorities.

Source: New Chongqing - Chongqing Daily