The Yangtze River Economic Belt： A Booster of Chongqing's Development

Promoting the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt has been a task for the CPC Central Committee and the State Council to get adapted to the new normal of economic development and plan the new pattern of Chinese economy in a scientifi c way.

In January 2016， a meeting was held in Chongqing to promote the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. President Xi Jinping addressed the meeting， elaborating on the significance， methods and key tasks for the Developing Strategy of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Since then， Xi has made several speeches and stressed that we should develop the Belt in an ecologically friendly way. According to him， no economic activities concerning the Yangtze River should sacrifice the environment. We should make joint efforts to protect the environment of the Belt without any overdevelopment. Meanwhile， we should try to build the Belt into a golden economic zone with a better ecology， a more coordinated economy，a more unifi ed market， a better transport system and a more scientifi c mechanism.

The Yangtze River Economic Belt is vital for the overall development of Chongqing. Chongqing should combine ecological protection with the construction of river channels and industrial shift，building ecological corridors， making full use of the shipping capacity of the golden waterway， and constructing a comprehensive three-dimensional traffic corridor. In this way， it can direct the graded industrial shift from the east to the west，lead the development of the upper reaches of the Yangtze River， form a new regional growth pole and provide strong support for the sustainable development of Chinese economy.

The Yangtze River Economic Belt covers an area of 2，050，000 square kilometers， accounting for 21% of the whole country. In it are 11 provinces or municipalities， including Shanghai，Jiangsu， Zhejiang， Anhui， Jiangxi， Hubei， Hunan，Chongqing， Sichuan， Yunnan and Guizhou. It holds over 40% of the whole population and GDP of China. Therefore， it is of high ecological status with strong overall strength and great potentials for development.

As an important link in the Yangtze River Economic Belt， Chongqing is a comprehensive functional hub which integrates air， land and water transportations. Besides， it is the municipality that links the “New Silk Road”， the“New Chama Trade Rout” and the Yangtze River waterway.

Based on Liangjiang New District， Chongqing has further optimized the channel for international trade， extended the function of the opening platform， promoted the transformation and upgrading of trading modes， and taken a lead in the construction of the center for opening up in inland areas of China.

Now The Outline for the Development and Planning of Yangtze River Economic Zone has been issued officially. According to it， a developing pattern featured with “One Axis， Two Wings， Three Poles and Multiple Spots” has been proposed， where Wuhan and Chongqing will be developed into super big cities. This is another strategy for the development of Chongqing.

As the economic center in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River， Chongqing is sure to be developed into a super big city.