The first national-level new area in inland China unveils five-year development blueprint

By Liu Xinyu

(ECNS) -- The Chongqing Liangjiang New Area Administrative District was officially inaugurated on Sunday, marking the formal debut of the first national-level new area in central and western China to be fully constituted as an administrative entity.

This month, the area convened its inaugural Party Congress and inaugural "Two Sessions", which outlined its development pathway for the next five years and key priorities for the coming year.

Established on June 18, 2010, Liangjiang New Area is the first national-level new area in inland China and the third nationwide, following Shanghai Pudong New Area and Tianjin Binhai New Area.

In October 2025, the State Council officially approved an administrative division adjustment involving Jiangbei, Yubei, and Beibei districts to establish the Chongqing Liangjiang New Area Administrative District.

Since then, the area has integrated its dual roles as an administrative district and a development zone, achieving institutional unity and functional complementarity. This integration has fully empowered it to serve as a crucial strategic pivot for the Western Development drive in the new era and a comprehensive inland opening hub. It now benefits from the compounded momentum of overlapping national strategies, including the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, ushering in new and significant development opportunities.

The First Plenary Session of the First Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Chongqing Liangjiang New Area, held on January 12, 2026, defined the primary socio-economic development goals for the area during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026–2030). The core mission is to fully leverage its role as a main engine, accelerating its development as "six major fronts" underpinning the modernized new Chongqing. These include serving as the primary front for implementing national major strategies and for expanding high-level opening-up.

The session outlined twelve key tasks for the next five years, which include contributing to enhancing the development capacity of the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle, fully supporting the improvement of the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, and jointly promoting the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

Industrially, the area will adhere to a direction of intelligent, green, and integrated development to accelerate the establishment of a modern industrial system. This involves building an advanced manufacturing cluster system, creating a highland for modern service industry agglomeration, nurturing and expanding emerging and future industries, and promoting AI-enabled transformation across all sectors. The plan also aims to enhance the service efficacy of the inland opening comprehensive hub, forging new gateways for the city's open development.

Latest statistics underscore a robust economic base. The area spans 1,360 square kilometers with a population of 3.52 million. It has cultivated a 400-billion-yuan intelligent connected new energy vehicle (NEV) industry, a 300-billion-yuan new-generation electronic information manufacturing industry, and a 200-billion-yuan software and information service industry. The area hosts several hundred-billion-yuan and ten-billion-yuan clusters in advanced manufacturing and modern services. It produces 75 percent of Chongqing's NEVs, with the total output value of its large-scale industries exceeding 670 billion yuan （about $96.22 billion).

Chongqing’s first centrally administered state-owned enterprise headquarters — China Changan Automobile Group — is located here. Leading NEV companies like Seres have taken root and expanded, alongside over 540,000 business entities.

Global resources and factors converge, allocate, and radiate from here. The area has established the nation’s only comprehensive bonded zone with dual "seaport + airport" functionality and the western region’s sole port-type national logistics hub—Guoyuan Port. Its open platform system, including the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, the Pilot Free Trade Zone, and the China-Singapore Connectivity Project, is continuously being improved.

Jiangbei International Airport and Chongqing North Railway Station handle over 120 million passengers annually. The area accounts for more than 40 percent of Chongqing’s total import-export volume, actually utilized foreign investment, and cross-border RMB settlement.

The 15th Five-Year Plan period coincides with major anniversaries for Chongqing: the 30th anniversary of its status as a municipality and of the Western Development Strategy, and the 10th anniversary of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle.

This stage is also set to be a critical period for Chongqing Liangjiang New Area to achieve a leapfrog breakthrough. By amplifying the new advantages from the integrated development of a national-level new area and an administrative district, it aims to accelerate its development as a vital growth pole and power source for the modernized new Chongqing. 

Aspiring to become a highland gathering of global advanced factors, this inland open gateway is poised to leave a distinctive "Liangjiang Imprint" on the global landscape of future industries.