Chongqing

Situated in southwest China, Chongqing is one of China’s four municipalities and the only one in the interior. Surrounded by mountains and intersected by the Yangtze and its tributary the Jialing River, Chongqing is the largest commercial and industrial centre in the interior of China.

Between 1937 and 1945, when Japanese troops occupied Nanjing, the city was regarded as a safe haven and was chosen as the capital of the Kuomintang government. Despite heavy bombing by the Japanese, its population tripled during this time and many important institutions and industries were relocated here, laying the initial foundations for its industrial power base. China’s future paramount leader Deng Xiaoping was the city’s first mayor after the People’s Republic was founded in 1949.

In 1997, Chongqing was removed from Sichuan province to become a municipality under the jurisdiction of the central government and it is now, in terms of population, the largest city in the world. It has a rapidly growing population of 31m and an area of 82,000 sq km – larger than Austria. However, the vast majority of its area is classified as rural; only 6.59m people live in the city proper.

The city’s increasing importance in China’s overall economic landscape was evident in its selection, together with Chengdu, as the national testing ground for urban and rural cohesive development, a political and economic initiative launched by the ruling Communist Party in early 2007 that addresses the pressing issue of growing economic disparity. The initiative marks the beginning of a new economic era for China as its central government begins its long process to raise living standards for the entire population. In December 2007 the central government appointed Bo Xilai, China’s former Minister of Commerce, to the position of Chongqing’s Communist Party Secretary, hoping that he will help the city raise its international profile.

Despite the progress that has been made on the nearby Three Gorges Dam project, public finances in Chongqing are being stretched by the need to resettle people made homeless by the massive hydroelectric scheme. More than 1m local residents have been forced to move because of the dam. In addition, under Chongqing’s 2007-2020 Urban and Rural Development Plan, a further 4m people will be encouraged to resettle. The resettlement is deemed necessary to protect the ecology of the reservoir formed by the dam.

Chongqing is a pillar of China’s ‘go west’ programme, which is aimed at encouraging the growth of industry in the inland western and central regions of the country and reducing the vast disparities in income that exist between these regions and the coastal provinces. Multinational companies with a presence here include BP, Nokia, ABB, Mitsubishi, Carrefour, Wal-Mart and Isuzu. Northern Telecom, Ericsson, Lafarge, Hewlett-Packard, Mobil, Fiat, Ford, Suzuki, Honda and Samsung also have operations in the city.

Pillar industries

Chongqing’s industries have developed rapidly in recent years. Pillar sectors, including automobiles, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, are being restructured. Many military factories, set up after 1949 for reasons of strategic security but long since uncompetitive, have been converted to civilian use. Attracted by lower production costs, a number of prominent domestic appliance manufacturers whose production was previously concentrated in coastal provinces – including Haier, Midea, TCL, Gree and Gless – have recently set up operations here. Major export items include motorcycles, automobiles, auto parts, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, agricultural products and light industrial goods.

In the past, poor transportation infrastructure has deterred foreign investors. Now, however, it is becoming a more attractive proposition. Located further upstream than any other significant port on the Yangtze, Chongqing is the major transhipment point for outgoing freight originating in southwest China. Significant funds have been set aside to improve the local transport network, and generally the city has undergone a major programme of reconstruction and renovation; its hills are now covered with new office blocks and high-rise apartment buildings.

Power supply has long been a serious problem in Chongqing, and this has prompted the local government to invest heavily in the construction of power sources and urban power grids. During the hot summer months, when temperatures can reach 40°C, the use of air-conditioning units often stretches the electricity grid to breaking point.

With the city highly dependent on coal as a source of power, air pollution is a serious health concern; the precipitous hills that surround it exacerbate the problem. Acid rain, smoky humidity in hot summers and persistent winter smog can make Chongqing an uncomfortable place in which to live.

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