During the Dragon Boat Festival, Sichuan-Chongqing Folk Poetry Influence Exhibition was held in Chengdu. Poets from multiple poetry groups in Sichuan and Chongqing gathered in Chengdu with their poetry. Meanwhile, a cargo ship started from Nanchong and head to the world along Nanchong-Chongqing-Shanghai waterway initiated in March, 2016.

　　The simultaneous beating of poetry, a dream distance as well as culture and economy has vividly reflected the win-win development pattern between Sichuan and Chongqing since a long time ago. This mutual cooperation has embodied in internal genes but also pointed to beautiful and promising future.

　　As our country is implementing “One Belt and One Road” strategy and The Yangtze River Economic Belt, Sichuan and Chongqing inherit historical genes, aim at new orientation, deepen cooperation and jointly play a new development song in Western China Development.

　　New Achievements: 18 major events tie Sichuan and Chongqing more closely

　　During the Dragon Boat Festival in 2016, Mr. Zhang Ming, a citizen in Chongqing, went for Emei City by Chengdu-Chongqing Bullet Train. “It only took me more than 2 hours to the the foot of Mount Emei from Chongqing North Station. It was quite convenient.” He said.
　　
　　Not only Mr. Zhang Ming, before the Dragon Boat Festival, when the news that Mount Emei and Mount Qingcheng had opened direct bullet train to Chongqing was issued, all the tickets had been sold out in less than half days.

　　Changing from transferring from Chengdu to the linkage of Chengdu-Chongqing Bullet Train and Chengdu-Mianyang-Leshan Bullet Train, Chengdu-Dujiangyan Bullet Train, what the direct bullet trains has brought is the direct influence of Chongqing on the cities in Chengdu-Chongqing City Group, indicating the deeper cooperation between Sichuan and Chongqing.

　　In May, 2015, Sichuan and Chongqing signed cooperation memorandum, specifying to cooperate with each other in 18 major events, including 6 fields such as transportation, information, marketing, public services, resource and environmental protection and exploitation. industrial development. One year later, with the vigorous cooperation between Sichuan and Chongqing governments, all these cooperation events are being implemented gradually.

　　In terms of information integration, recently,  the communication network along Chengdu-Chongqing Passenger Expressway has been completed constructing and opened. Meanwhile, Sichuan and Chongqing telecommunication companies have decided to lower roaming charges through targeted roaming packages.

　　In terms of marketing integration, since 2015, another 8 branches have been established in financing and insurance industries in Sichuan and Chongqing. Sichuan and Chongqing major companies list and brand protection list have been established. 3,400 batches of goods have been inspected by commercial administrations and food and drugs administration by their counterparts in Sichuan and Chongqing.

　　In terms of public service integration, Sichuan and Chongqing have cooperated with each other in 9 aspects including employment, entrepreneurship, social guaranteeing, personnel, talents, labor relationship and so on. Sichuan and Chongqing also jointly promote the cooperation in household registration. Sichuan and Chongqing identification cards distance one to one pilot work has also initiated.

　　Since July 1st, 2015, Sichuan and Chongqing have achieved immediate settlements of medical insurance in different places. The first batch of pilot hospitals include 10 Sichuan hospitals and 10 Chongqing hospitals. By the end of March, this policy has benefited 2,134 persons for providing hospital cost of over 40 million yuan. In the future, Sichuan and Chongqing will further enlarge settlement coverage.

　　In terms of environmental protection, Sichuan and Chongqing will share information of 32 hydropower stations and 16 rainfall observations in the Yangtze River, Jialing River, Fujiang River and Qujiang River based on the information sharing platforms for the controlled reservoirs in the Yangtze River basin. Technology and environmental protection departments in Sichuan and Chongqing also form Chengdu Chongqing technology innovation alliance for air pollution prevention and control industry.

　　In terms of industrial cooperation development, 2015 has witnessed the increasing in mutual investment. The investment of Chongqing enterprises in Sichuan has been increasing steadily with the actual investment of 169.4 billion yuan. The investment of Sichuan enterprises in Chongqing has also increased remarkably with the actual investment of 149.7 billion yuan, a year-on-year growth of 27%. Sichuan and Chongqing have been the largest domestic investment attraction source for each other.

　　New orientation: Economic Growth Pole in leading opening and reform in Western China

　　There are 2 landmark documents which should not be ignored in the process of Sichuan and Chongqing cooperation.

　　In 2011, Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Region Planning has specified that the strategic orientation of Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Region is an important economic center in Western China, a critical modern industrial base in China, a pilot in deepening inland opening, a demonstration zone integrating urban and rural development, and a guaranteeing zone for the ecological safety in the upstream of the Yangtze River.

　　In 2016, Chengdu-Chongqing City Group Development Planning has also proposed that Chengdu-Chongqing City Group will base in Southwest China, exert influence on Northwest China, Europe and Asia, foster a national level city group leading the development and opening in Western China, and become a new economic growth pole in Western China.
　　
　　Moreover, our country has other orientations for Chengdu-Chongqing City Group, including an important modern industrial base in China, leading zone of innovation driving in Western China, a highland in inland opening economic strategy, a demonstration zone integrating urban and rural development, and an advanced zone in constructing beautiful China.

　　From economic region to city group, from kernel point to growth pole, Sichuan and Chongqing cooperation has focused on Chengdu-Chongqing city group and started a new journey.
　　New orientations come from new opportunities. In the eyes of Mr. Shen Xiaozhong, Director of Chongqing Development and Reform Commission, Sichuan and Chongqing are located at the intersection place of “One Belt and One Road” and the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Sichuan and Chongqing are also places with the best development foundation, the strongest resource carrying resources, and the largest development potential in Western China. Under the deployment of national strategies, Sichuan and Chongqing cooperation will embraced with unprecedented opportunities.

　　New orientations come from new situation. In the past 5 years, Chongqing and Chengdu have both risen quickly and become the most sparkling twin stars in Western China. The economic volume of Sichuan and Chongqing is increasing and reaches 4.6 trillion yuan by the end of 2015, accounting for over 30% of the total amount of GDP in the west.

　　From 2012 to 2015, Sichuan enterprises have invested over 300 billion yuan in Chongqing, accounting for 16% of the total amount of domestic investment funds of Chongqing. Chongqing enterprises have invested over 500 billion yuan in Sichuan, accounting for 19% of the total amount of domestic investment funds of Sichuan.

　　Mr. Tang Limin, Director of Sichuan Development and Reform Commission, has decoded the hidden logic behind these data. The deeper cooperation between Sichuan and Chongqing has greatly promoted the social and economic development. In the future, as the implementation of Chengdu-Chongqing City Group Development Planning, their cooperation will be more specified. Chengdu-Chongqing City Group will form a new economic growth pole in Western China.

　　New Space: Deeper cooperation helps Sichuan and Chongqing to achieve new leaps
　　
　　In summer, the water level of the Yangtze River will rise gradually. On the Yangtze River outside Chongqing, there are more frequent cargo ships coming and going. Many of them are from Sichuan.

　　Currently, Chongqing Guoyuan Port has opened waterways from Shanghai to Nanchong via Guoyuan, from Guoyuan to Panzhihua, from Guoyuan to Xichang, from Guoyuan to Guangyuan and so on. As the golden waterways in China, the Yangtze River is always a critical bond linking Sichuan, Chongqing with China and the world. As the promotion of One Belt and One Road and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, this channel will play more important roles.

　　Yibin-Chongqing section trunk waterway of the upstream of the Yangtze River is 384 km in total with 228 km in Sichuan. Due to historical and natural reasons, currently, during the dry season, Yibin Port and Luzhou Port could only be accessible to ships under 1,000 tons. Ships with higher tons must be reduced their loads to go through or transfer from Chongqing, which greatly restricts the accessibility of ships in Sichuan and Chongqing.

　　To improve this situation, currently, Sichuan and Chongqing have decided to promote the standardization of ships and waterways upgrading in the Yangtze River and Jialing River, accelerate the waterway renovation projects for the waterways in the upstream of the Yangtze River, and work together to push that our country could initiate the preliminary work of waterway renovation for Chongqing and Yibin Section.

　　Through upgrading and renovation, by 2020, Sichuan trunk section waterways of the Yangtze River will rise from III level waterways into II level, which could be accessible to ships over 2,000 tons all years through. By then, the Yangtze River’s function as shipping main artery will be more prominent and bring brand new space for Sichuan and Chongqing cooperation.

　　Extending physical channels are expanding the visual space of Sichuan and Chongqing cooperation and national strategic orientation has risen the invisible space for mutual cooperation. Chengdu-Chongqing City Group Development Planning has specified that by 2020, Chengdu-Chongqing City Group will be basically constructed into a national level city group with vigor in economy development, higher standard of living quality, and beautiful ecology and by 2030, it will achieve the changing from a national level city group into a world level one.

　　To achieve this leap, Sichuan and Chongqing will work together to enlarge the brand influence of “China-Europe Trains” starting from Chengdu and Chongqing, foster it into a west international trade channel linking the inland regions of China and the Silk Road Economic Belt, form an international south trade channel based on Chengdu-Kunming Double Line Railway and Sichuan-Tibet Railway, and construct 34 industrial parks over 100 billion yuan.

　　To achieve this leap, Sichuan and Chongqing have decided to explore and establish city group integration development funds. With the experiences of Europe Union Financial Stability Facility, Sichuan and Chongqing will encourage cities to establish city group integration development funds. “This will be a remarkable innovation.” Mr. Li Houqiang, Head of Academy of Social Sciences, said that the fund would offer guarantee for development. The fund would also play a demonstration function as well to attract the participation of private capital into the construction of Chengdu and Chongqing urbanization construction and inject powerful driving forces for Sichuan and Chongqing cooperation.