Chongqing: Market Profile

Major Economic Indicators

Notes: 
1. In real terms
2. For all state-owned enterprises and other forms with annual sales over RMB20 million
3. Jan-Jun 2016

Sources: Chongqing Statistical Yearbook 2016; Chongqing Statistical Bureau; China Customs Statistics, 12.2015, 9.2016

General Background

Chongqing has a total area of 82,400 sq kilometres. Total population stood at 30.16 million by the end of 2015. Chongqing’s GDP grew by 10.7% in the first three quarters of 2016, four percentage points higher than the national average.

Chongqing is one of China’s four municipalities directly under the central government, but its structure is substantially different from the other three. For instance, the area of Chongqing is 12 times that of Shanghai, and its population is 5.6 million more than Shanghai’s. The vast majority of Chongqing area is still rural. In 2015, Chongqing’s urban population only accounted for 60.9% of its total population, while the percentage was 89% in Shanghai.

The establishment of the Chongqing municipality in 1997 represented a major breakthrough of China’s initiatives to speed up economic development in the central and western regions. The Three Gorges Project which has positive implications in areas such as tourism, relocation of residents and environment protection has stimulated development of Chongqing’s economy, as well as the western region as a whole.

“One Belt, One Road”: Chongqing as Western Hub of Yangtze River Economic Belt

The Chongqing municipal government issued its Opinions on Implementing the National Strategy of “One Belt, One Road” and Building the Yangtze River Economic Belt in December 2014. In order to enhance its connectivity and influence under the “Belt and Road” and Yangtze River Economic Belt initiatives, Chongqing will further reinforce its strategic position as a shipping centre in the middle reaches of the Yangtze and a national logistics hub. Efforts will also be focused on developing the city into a financial centre and technology education centre. It is reported that the city will invest up to RMB1.2 trillion in infrastructure construction by 2020.

Industries

Chongqing is one of the old industrial bases of China. It is a major automobiles, military, iron & steel and aluminum industry centre in China. Chongqing’s industry is dominated by heavy industry. In 2015, heavy industry accounted for 74.2% of the municipality’s gross industrial output. In recent years, Chongqing’s electronics and related industries grew strongly. In 2014, the share of gross output of telecommunication equipment, computers and other electronic equipment industries in total gross industrial output grew from 11.4% in 2012 to 15.5% in 2015.

Composition of GDP (%)

Source: Chongqing Statistical Yearbook 2016

Output Share of Leading Industry Groups (2015)

Source: Chongqing Statistical Yearbook 2016

High-tech Development

Chongqing New North Zone (CNNZ) is a modern industrial base aimed at developing high-tech industries. The zone consists of several zones including the Chongqing Economic and Technological Development Zone, Chongqing High-Tech Industrial Development Zone and Chongqing Export Processing Zone.

Leading computer and related products manufacturers have set up plants in Chongqing, including Foxconn andInventec from Taiwan. In 2015, exports of high-tech products accounted for 51% of total exports. Exports of notebook computers accounted for about 34% of Chongqing’s total exports.

Tourism

There are some famous tourist spots in Chongqing, e.g. the Three Gorges, Dazu Rock Carvings. In 2015, Chongqing received 2.83 million overseas tourists (+7.1%), bringing foreign exchange revenue of US$1.47 billion (+8.4%).

Foreign Trade

The leading export market was the US in 2015 which accounted for 22.4% of Chongqing’s total exports. Other major export markets included Germany (8.8%), Hong Kong (7.8%) and South Korea (4.1%). Major sources of imports included Taiwan (accounted for 15.2% of total imports), Malaysia (14.1%) and South Korea (12.2%). In 2015, Hong Kong’s trade with Chongqing dropped by 68% year-on-year to top US$4.3 billion.

Foreign Investment

In 2015, FDI going into the manufacturing sector dropped by 14.9%, accounting for about 16.9% of the total FDI, while FDI going to the tertiary sectors also dropped by 31%, accounting for 63% of the total utilised FDI. In 2015, investment from other provinces grew by 17.7% to RMB853 billion.

An increasing number of multinational companies have set up operations in Chongqing. By the end of 2015, 262 of the world top 500 companies have set up operations in Chongqing. More and more foreign companies relating to the electronic industries are setting up in Chongqing. Besides Hewlett-Packard, Foxconn and Inventec, Acer from Taiwan has also set up a manufacturing base in Chongqing. Honeywell is also building an automobile material plant.

Hong Kong was the largest source of FDI in Chongqing. In 2015, the utilised FDI from Hong Kong was US$2.3 billion (-31.7%), accounting for 60% of the total utilised FDI in 2015. In 2015, other major investors came from Singapore and South Korea.

Consumer Market

Chongqing has a large local market with a total population of over 30.16 million. In terms of per capita disposable income of urban residents, Chongqing reached RMB27,239 in 2015, up 8.3%.

Chongqing is a retail and wholesale centre of southwestern China. The retail industry of Chongqing is very competitive, particularly with the establishment of a number of local and foreign retail enterprises such as Carrefour,Walmart, Metro and Gome. Major department stores and shopping malls include Chongqing Department Store, New Century, Wangfujing, Pacific, Times Square and Metropolitan Oriental Plaza.

There are several major shopping districts in Chongqing, namely Jiefangbei (解放碑), Shapingba (沙坪坝), Nan Ping (南坪), Guanyinqiao (观音桥) and Yangjiaping (杨家坪). Chaotianmen market (朝天门) is a major wholesale centre in southwestern China selling a wide range of products such as garment, plastic products and textiles.