Province Introduction of China: Sichuan

Key Information














































 
  
 
 
Introduction
Sichuan Province is located along the Upper Yangtze River in the southwestern part of China and is bordered by the provinces of Gansu and Shaanxi to the north, Guizhou and Yunnan to the south, the Tibetan Autonomous Region to the west, and Chongqing Municipality to the east. It is also the hometown of the world-famous giant panda.
 
Sichuan has one of the most diverse ranges of ethnic groups in the whole of China. The Han, the Yi, the Tibetans, the Miao, the Hui and the Qiang all reside here. A majority of the minority ethnic groups have maintained their traditional lifestyles and practices - often a mixture of agriculture, animal husbandry, and hunting. 
 
Economic Overview
Sichuan’s economy is the biggest in Western China. In 2006, its GDP reached RMB 863.8 billion, up 13.3% over 2005, while GDP per capita amounted to RMB 10546, an increase of 16.4% over the previous year.
 
In 2006, the value-add of agriculture stood at RMB 160.4 billion, up 3% over 2005, the value-add from the industry sector was RMB 377.5 billion, up 20% over the previous year and the value-add of the service sector reached RMB 325.9 billion, up 11.6% over 2005.   
 

 
Fixed asset investment in 2006 grew rapidly. During the year, the province’s fixed asset investments reached RMB 452.4 billion, an increase of 30.1% over 2005. In particular, the industries supported by economic policies saw a speedy growth. Real estate and manufacturing are the two industries with the highest amount of fixed asset investment.   
  






 












Sichuan is the biggest consumer market in Western China. In 2006, total retail sales of consumer goods in the province reached RMB 342.2 billion, increasing by 14.8% over the previous year. Annual per capita disposal income of urban households in 2006 reached RMB 9350.1, 11.5% higher than 2005.   
   










   
In recent years, the expansion of foreign retail enterprises into Sichuan has sped up since China fully liberalized the retail and wholesale distribution sectors. Major foreign retail enterprises include Carrefour and Auchan from France, Metro from Germany, Wal-Mart from America, Ito-yokado from Japan and Parkson from Malaysia.
  
Agriculture    
The crops produced in the province are those that survive in sub-tropical and cool temperate zones. The province is a leading producer of rice in China, and also a major producer of other crops such as corn, sweet potatoes, wheat, rapeseed, sorghum, barley, soybeans and millet. In 2006, however, due to extreme drought, the total output of grain fell by 4.75% to 32.5 million tons.Sichuan has a long history of silk production. In 2006, its yield of silkworm cocoons reached 98,300 tons, increasing by 3.15% over 2005. It is also famous for its hemp and other fiber crops which are normally ranked second in China. Its yield of fiber crops amounted to 65,800 tons in 2006, falling by 3.9% from 2005.  
   
Sichuan is the only region in China in which both the oxen of North China and the water buffaloes of South China are found living side by side. In 2006, livestock in the province kept a moderate growth. Annual meat production was 10.3 million tons, up 7.2% over 2005. Within this figure, pork production reached 7 million tons, up 6.8% over 2005, accounting for 67.9% of total meat output.    
 
Industry
Sichuan is one of the most industrialized provinces in Western China. In 2006, its industrial value-add amounted to RMB 314.5 billion, up 21.5% over 2005. In 2006, the total industrial value-add of heavy industries (such as coal, energy and iron and steel) reached RMB 179.2 billion, up 24.9% over 2005, while the industrial value-add of light industries (such as building materials, wood processing, food and silk processing) reached RMB 80.5 billion, increasing by 22.2% from 2005. 










   
 
The total industrial value-added of traditional industry in the province including food, beverage and farm byproducts processing are ranked first in 2006 at RMB 119.1 billion, increasing by 47.1% over 2005. There are also several world-famous wine breweries in the province, such as Wu Liangye Group, Jian Nanchun Group and Luzhou Laojiao.Sichuan’s high-tech industry has been developing fast, and has attracted a number of internationally renowned IT companies, such as Microsoft, Cisco, Intel, IBM and Motorola, to set up manufacturing centers here. In 2006, the value-add generated from the high-tech industry reached RMB20.6 billion, representing an increase of 23.9% from 2005.  
 
Services
he telecommunications industry has sustained a rapid development in Sichuan. In 2006, the total business volume of telecommunication reached RMB 58.3 billion, 26.5% higher than in 2005. The number of fixed phone users reached 17.1 million, 8.5% higher than in 2005, while the number of mobile phone users hit 19.8 million, an increase 17% from the previous year. Telephone penetration of the whole province was 42.2%.
 
Sichuan has an abundance of tourism resources. It has five world heritages - three natural heritages, one cultural heritage and one mixed heritage. They are the Huanglong Scenic, Jiuzhaigou Valley, Emei Mountain, Qingcheng Mountain&Dujiangyan Irrigation System and Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries. Domestic tourists number 166 million, bringing in total revenues of RMB 94.8 billion. Overseas tourists, while fewer than domestic tourists, hit 1.4 million, and contributed US$0.4 billion worth of revenue to the economy. Revenue from domestic tourists grew by 36.6% and that from overseas tourists grew by 25.1%.
  

  



 
Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment
In 2006, the total foreign trade reached US$11 billion, 39.5% higher than in 2005. Among them, exports reached US$6.6 billion, up 40.9% from the previous year.Major export markets include the U.S., Hong Kong, India and Japan. The main exports are machinery and electric equipment, video and audio appliances, textile materials and products, base metals and related products.The U.S. and Japan are also key import sources, in addition to Germany and South Korea. Major imports include machinery and electric equipment, video and audio appliances, transport equipments and minerals.Sichuan attracted the most FDI among all the western provinces. In 2006, the actual utilized FDI increased by 23.4% to US$1.5 billion in 2006, mostly from the British Virgin Islands and Hong Kong.
 








  

 
Most of the FDI in the province was channeled into real estate and manufacturing. In 2006, utilized FDI in real estate grew by 64.2% to US$549 million, accounting for 43.6% of the total while that of manufacturing rose by 18.3% to US$439 million.
   
 
Education
The province’s higher education sector maintained a steady development in 2006. It had 76 universities and 173,000 graduates of higher education institutions, an increase of 11% from 2005. Famous universities in this province include Sichuan University and University of Electronic Science and Technology of China.  
   
 
Major Development Zones














By the end of 2006, Sichuan has 5 state-level development zones. They are The Chengdu Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone, Chengdu Export Processing Zone, Chengdu National Economic Technological Development Zone, Chengdu Cross-Strait Technological Industrial Park, and Mianyang Hi-Tech Industries Development Zone.   
   
Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone (CDHTZ) was initiated in 1988 and ratified as a state-ranked high-tech industrial development zone in 1991. In 2000, Chengdu Hi-Tech Zone was approved to be a member science park of APEC. The zone consists of a south zone and a west zone, each built into a national export-processing zone.
The pillar industries of CDHTZ include IT, pharmaceuticals and precision machinery. Its major economic indexes grew over 25% annually and its comprehensive strength ranks fifth among China’s 53 state-level high-tech zones. In 2006, the total GDP of CDHTZ amounted to RMB 48.1 billion. There are over 11,800 companies registered in the zone, out of which 674 companies are foreign invested enterprises with 33 being Fortune 500 companies. 
 
 
Major Cities in Sichuan
There are 21 cities in Sichuan Province. As shown in Table 12.9.6, Chengdu is the city that has the greatest economic growth in Sichuan. It has a GDP of RMB 275.0 billion, which is nearly five times that of the city with the next highest GDP. Given its economic importance in Sichuan, the following section provides an overview of the city of Chengdu.























  

   
 
Chengdu 



















 
Introduction
Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, is not only an important industrial base in China, but also a well-known historical and cultural city in southwest China. It has a history of 2,500 years and was once called “The Brocade City”. The nickname was given because in the Western Han Dynasty (206BC), brocade produced in Chengdu was popular among the royal and the rich. As the ancient city is now moving forward to a bustling, modern, energetic and leisure city, giant commercial shopping centers, pavilions and teahouses are sprouting up.
 
Investment Climate
Chengdu is the second largest economy in inland China, next only to Chongqing. In 2006, its GDP reached RMB 275 billion, 13.8% higher than in 2005. Chengdu’s leading industries include electronic communication manufacturing, pharmaceutical industry, food, beverages and tobacco industry, tourism industry and financial services.
   
The electronic information industry has mainly rooted itself in the Chengdu High-tech Industry Development Zone and exploited the advantages the zone has to offer. A concentration of high and new-technological products such as integrated circuit, electronic information security products, new electronic materials, computer software, magnetic materials, system integration and network equipment can be found here.  
   
The medicine industry has also located itself in the Chengdu High-tech Industry Development Zone. It takes advantage of Chengdu’s resources and expertise in Chinese traditional medicine, with an emphasis on Chinese patent medicine, biological pharmacy, biomaterial, chemical medicine, and extraction of natural products.  
   
Along with the banking industry that had gradually opened up after China entered the WTO, Chengdu is the most important city for attracting foreign banking in Western China and its investment environment is similar to that of the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta. Currently, 9 foreign bank outlets and representative offices have been established in Chengdu. They include HSBC, Citibank, Standard Chartered, BEA, ABN-AMRO, Tokyo-Mitsubishi Bank, BNP-PARIBAS, UOB Bank and OCBC.

Foreign Trade and Foreign Investment
Foreign trade in Chengdu maintains a robust growth. In 2006, foreign trade was value at US$6.9 billion, 53.3% higher than in 2005. Among them, exports increased by 54.6% to US$4.1 billion while imports increased by 51.4% to US$2.8 billion.Under the current “Go West” policy, Chengdu is becoming more attractive to foreign investment. In 2006, actual utilized FDI amounted to US$0.7 billion, an increase of 36.6% from 2005.  
 
Due to a large labor pool and an average salary less than those found on the east coast, many multinational companies have invested and are continuing to invest in Chengdu, A large proportion of these companies are setting up factories that will be used to service local markets. By the end of 2006, 78 of the Fortune 500 companies had invested in Chengdu, including Motorola, IBM, Intel, United Technologies, Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, Toyota, Sumitomo, Marubeni, Lafarge Cement, and GM.  
 
Important Travel Information  
Time taken to travel from Chengdu Shuangliu Airport to:
- Beijing
- Shanghai
- Guangzhou
- Hong Kong
- Seoul
- Singapore
- Bangkok
- Tokyo
- Amsterdam
 2 hours 25 mins
2 hours 15 mins
2 hours 5 mins
2 hours 25 mins
3 hours 15 mins
4 hours 45 mins
2 hours 45 mins
4 hours 30 mins
10 hours