Chongqing Municipal Basic Information: Area: 82,300 sq. km Capital: Chongqing Population: Approximately 31.4 million Language: Mandarin and local dialect. Religion: As the largest city in China with a total population of over 30m, around 6m (20%) of whom are urban residents, Chongqing's urban area lies on steep hills at the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing rivers. The city suffered severe bombing in Japanese raids during the war. This destruction, coupled with recent ambitious development, means that little remains of "old" Chongqing. Chongqing is one of China's furnace cities, reaching temperatures of over 40C in mid summer. At other times, the city is regularly shrouded in fog. With the exception of its river connections, Chongqing's physical location has been a major hindrance to efficient economic development. In recent years, economic development has been aided by the completion of an expressway to Chengdu in 1997 cutting journey times from eight to four hours, faster road links planned with Wuhan and Shanghai, and the construction of more bridges across the rivers that bisect Chongqing. Chongqing, which was until recently the second key city in Sichuan province, rates as the chief industrial city of SW China, while the provincial capital of Sichuan, Chengdu, serves as the retail and financial centre. In 1997, Chongqing was granted the status of provincial? level municipality directly under the central government. It is one of four such cities in the country, and the only one in Western China. The patronage of former premier Li Peng (the driving force behind the Three Gorges dam project on the Yangtze) and Deng Xiaoping (a native of the Chongqing area) are said to have been key to this elevation. The central government is now promoting Chongqing as one of the major hubs for economic growth and reform under the Western Development strategy. The municipal authorities undoubtedly face a major challenge in realising the city's appointed role as a spur for economic growth in SW China. There is an ageing loss? making heavy industrial base - the main industries are automotive and iron/steel - and considerable difficulties to overcome luring foreign investors, especially those in export - oriented fields, away from established coastal investment destinations. They also have to factor in the needs and problems of a predominantly rural population. There has been some progress. Expanding the private sector was made a top priority for Chongqing and this sector now employs more people than the state sector, although most workers are in mini-enterprises. Restructuring inefficient state-owned enterprises and shedding a surfeit of employees has also greatly contributed to growth in the private sector. Private enterprise contributed 36% to overall GDP in 2000, and the forecast is that this will reach 55% by 2005. GDP growth last year was 8%, fuelled in no small part by expenditure funded by state bonds for capital and infrastructure development. Fixed asset investment reached RMB 51bn (+18.5%). This year's GDP growth target is 8.5%, and the forecast for fixed asset investment is an ambitious 20%. The average urban income in Chongqing last year was RMB 6,200, up 5% to about one quarter of the level in Shanghai; rural incomes are less than a third of that. Utilisation of foreign capital is forecast to almost double to US$500m in 2001. Foreign-funded enterprises now account for 18% of the city's total tax revenue, and employ over 100,000 people. According to a recent survey by "Fortune" magazine, Chongqing came fourth among investment destinations in China after Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen. Some local investment incentives are offered to negate, or compensate for, comparative disadvantages. Chongqing has two development zones, the Chongqing Economic and Technological Development Zone; and the Chongqing High-Tech Development Zone. Over 230 overseas enterprises are established in the first of these, with total investment of over US$1bn; but there is no Western company to date. Despite being off?zone, BP Amoco enjoys the same (and additional) incentives. There are around 24 British companies with investment or commercial interests in Chongqing. British interests lie mainly in chemicals, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, automotive spare parts, real estate development, computers and software. When the Three Gorges dam is completed in 2008, the government hopes that the dam will stimulate growth in the Yangtze Economic Region which stretches over 9 provinces and has a population of over 200m. Chongqing will directly benefit by being located on a major artificial lake, which will allow much larger, ocean-going, vessels to unload at its docks. Major Attractions in Chongqing Municipal

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