Chengdu Leads A New Round Of Investment In Western China

CHENGDU, China, Feb. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Is western China only capable of undertaking labor-intensive manufacturing from southern and eastern Chinese cities? With China's growth slowing, will the global investment to the inland west shrink? During the upcoming CPC and CPPCC sessions, Chengdu, capital of Sichuan province in southwestern China answers these questions.

On Feb. 27, Chengdu Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone (Chengdu Hi-tech Zone) and Singapore-Sichuan Hi-tech Innovation Park (SSCIP) held a signing ceremony for official cooperation agreements with five partners -- Tencent Holdings Limited, Shenzhen Power Leader Group, Guangdong OPPO Mobile Telecommunications Corporation, Guangxi Conha Group, Shenzhen Chipscreen Biosciences Limited -- and a total investment of $6.7 billion yuan.

As the most influential cyber giant in China, Tencent announced a $1 billion yuan investment to establish a southwest headquarter for running its whole business chain. China's first A-grade public listed Internet gaming company, ZQ Games, owned by Shenzhen Power Leader Group is one of the companies investing into SSCIP. One of China's leading mobile device manufacturers, Guangdong OPPO Telecommunications Group is investing approximately $1.2 billion yuan into the Park. A market leader in the steel manufacturing and export business since 1992, Guangxi Conha Group is investing $2 billion yuan to develop a steel and electronics-trading hub. A leading integrated biotech company, Chipscreen Biosciences is investing $2 billion yuan to establish a drug R&D base and headquarters. Those projects will accelerate Chengdu's IT, biopharmaceutical and logistics industries into the global market.

"China's westward movement in industries is ongoing," said a Chengdu Hi-tech Zone official at the ceremony. While remaining a magnet for domestic and foreign investment, western China demonstrates growing importance as China's economic hinterland. Chengdu, as an example, not only plays a significant role in manufacturing, but also proves itself in developing high-end industries of advanced technology. The wealth of talent and human resources, reasonable labor and living cost, and profound culture and hi-tech foundation make the city surprisingly inviting for global investors -- not to mention the driving force of the "Go West" Policy. With a very central geographical location, the city possesses well-developed logistics for unlocking the greater western China market.

Investing in China today is less a matter of deciding whether to do it than figuring out how and where to begin. Within the country's determination of economic reform, tremendous opportunities are approaching for both Chengdu and western China.