In accordance with the development of mass entrepreneurship and reform, as well as military civilian integration, Chengdu should establish a Comprehensive National Science Center featuring military civilian integration, Tang Liangzhi, deputy to the National People's Congress (NPC), suggested on Wednesday.

Tang, also Party Chief of Chengdu, made the remark during a speech in Beijing at the height of the ongoing session of China's top legislature.

He said that the central government "thinks highly of" the development of Sichuan and Chengdu, especially President Xi Jinping has a great expectation over Sichuan's development. The Sichuan provincial government has earnestly implemented the series of major requirements of President Xi and the decision-making arrangements of the central government, therefore it attaches great importance to Chengdu's development, emphasizes Chengdu's leading role in Sichuan, making the city ahead of the others. 

Tang said Chengdu will base on the supply-side structural reform, implement the national innovation-driven development strategy, "Belt and Road" and the Yangtze River economic belt development strategy, and seize the opportunities such as "Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration development plan" to facilitate the implementation of the decision-making of the central government and Sichuan provincial government in Chengdu.

In 2016, Chengdu saw its GDP figure reach 1.217 trillion yuan (about 176.1 billion US dollars), an increase of 7.7 percent, ranking the third among the total number of sub-provincial cities. The fixed assets investment amounted to 83.7 billion yuan (about 12.1 billion US dollars), up 14.3 percent.

Chengdu's economic vitality enhanced: the number of market players rises 34.6 pct to 335,000 in 2016

In the speech, Tang stressed that Chengdu has been taking innovation drive as the primary driving force of its transformation and future-oriented strategy. Last year, the city invested 25.8 billion yuan (3.7 billion US dollars) in R&D, representing a year-over-year rise of 12.7 percent. The number of market players rose by 34.6 percent to 335,000, reflecting the city's enhanced economic vitality. 

Chengdu has been maintaining its strategic focus on dedicated development and transformation, exerting itself to optimize industrial structure, speed up industrial upgrading, and boost real economy. Last year, strategic emerging industries and the advanced manufacturing industry in Chengdu generated an output value up to 700 billion yuan (101.3 billion US dollars), accounting for 58 percent of the city's total gross output value, an increase of 7 percent from 51 percent in 2012. Profits of industrial enterprises above designated size surged 36.3 percent. Industrial investment soared 41 percent, and private investment rose 13.8 percent. 

Chengdu has been promoting its economic development and expanding modern industries with a great emphasis on projects. The city has introduced 830 key projects related to advanced technologies since 2015, with investment totaling 673.7 billion yuan (97.5 billion US dollars). One of them features an investment of more than 100 billion yuan (14.5 billion US dollars), while eight see investment surpass 10 billion yuan (1.4 billion US dollars), respectively, setting the stage for the city's sustainable development. 

Building inland FTZ featuring "Belt and Road" Initiative characteristics based on system innovation

According to Tang, to play an active role in the "Belt and Road" Initiative and Yangtze River Economic Belt development strategy, Chengdu announced the "Chengdu-Europe Plus" strategy and built an international rail port to run trains between Chengdu and Europe, enhancing the international trade and collaboration on production capacity. Last year, Chengdu ran 460 trains to Europe, ranking top in China. On June 20, 2016, Chinese President Xi Jinping greeted the arrival of a train departed from Chengdu in Warsaw, Poland. 

Chengdu is promoting opening-up and enhancing its role as an international comprehensive transport hub through the construction of the "Belt and Road" transport routes. Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport now offers 95 international flight routes, with the number to be pushed to 100 this year. Featuring a throughput of more than 46 million passengers, it has become the fourth largest airport in China. After the expansion, its throughput will reach 60 million passengers.

In May 2016, Chengdu started the construction of Tianfu International Airport with a designed passenger throughput of 90 million.The first phase project with a designed throughput of 40 million passengers is estimated to be completed in 2019. This means Chengdu will have two international airports in operation by 2020, and its annual throughput will hit 100 million passengers. In terms of railway construction, the city is accelerating the construction of Chengdu-Xi'an, Chengdu-Guiyang, Chengdu-Lanzhou, and Chengdu-Kunming high-speed lines to make itself a national high-speed rail hub. 

Meanwhile, a free trade zone will inaugurate in Sichuan province soon. In the early stage, Chengdu has learned more than 40 pieces of experience from free trade zones in Shanghai and other regions. Next, it will shift its focus to system innovation to build an inland free trade zone featuring the "Belt and Road" characteristics. Last year, Chengdu saw its total volume of foreign trade rise 11 percent to 271.34 billion yuan (39.3 billion US dollars). 

Optimize and expand urban space, build metropolitan development pattern

Tang said, Chengdu implements the nation's strategy to develop regions in a coordinated way and enhance the city's development level. President Xi Jinping put forward the requirements of "One Respect, Five Coordinates" over the Central Urban Work Conference. Last May, the central government put into effect "Chengdu-Chongqing Urban Agglomeration Development Plan", which stipulates that Chengdu should aim at building itself into a national central city. 

To achieve this goal, Chengdu establishes the general thought of "157", which means "one goal, five supports and seven tasks". The goal is to build Chengdu into a national central city, through enhancing its position as the center of economy, technology, culture & innovation and foreign communications and the comprehensive transportation hub and coordinately carry out seven tasks including urban space optimization, power conversing, economic development, cultural construction, ecological protection, improvement of people's livelihood and megacity governance.

Combined with the actual situations in Chengdu, specific measures should be taken to optimize and expand urban space, and to deal with "urban malaises" brought by unorderly development. Within Chengdu, the downtown area and the Tianfu New Area should be the cores of development. The Tianfu New Area is to be forged into a "millennium lever" to drive the optimization of urban development pattern. The downtown area should focus on optimizing and organic renewal. Other suburban areas and counties are supposed to be built into satellite cities in accordance with the concept of "independent cities". In this way, a network of city cluster will be constructed to redistribute residents. Outside Chengdu, coordinated development of "1+7" Chengdu Plain city cluster will be promoted to form the metropolitan development pattern.

Besides, Tang advises Chengdu to build a comprehensive national science center featuring military civilian integration.

So far, the central government has approved the construction of comprehensive national science center in Beijing, Shanghai and Hefei. Tang advises Chengdu to set up a comprehensive national science center characterized with military civilian integration. The science center is to engage mainly in sectors like nuclear science, aerospace and internet security to promote the basic scientific research on defense and original innovation of cutting-edge technology, so as to provide strong support for national defense and economic construction.

Email: lijia@nbd.com.cn