Opening-up and transport

The location of Chengdu makes it an important node in the Belt and Road Initiative and the Yangtze River Economic Belt. It has the unique advantages of connecting southwestern and northwestern China and connecting East Asia with Southeast and South Asia. The city is making every effort to build itself into an international hub and is accelerating the process of becoming a well-developed inland area in terms of opening-up and reform.

In 2022, Chengdu had economic and trade links with 228 countries and regions around the world, and its total import and export of goods reached 834.64 billion yuan that year. Among them, total exports were worth 500.51 billion yuan and imports amounted to 334.13 billion yuan. Chengdu remains a large foreign trade city in western China.

Chengdu is the third city on the Chinese mainland to have two international airports. Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and Chengdu Tianfu International Airport operate in coordination with each other.

It has established a network system of international freight train services, connecting Chengdu to Europe and Asia. In 2022, international freight trains transported goods more than 5,000 times, and cumulatively more than 22,000 times, connecting to 100 overseas cities.

The Chengdu International Railway Port hopes to promote trade development, the gathering of industries, regional cooperation and cultural exchanges. It aims to establish an industrial system involving logistics, trade and port-related industries.

The Chengdu Qingbaijiang railway port area of China (Sichuan) Pilot Free Trade Zone covers an area of 9.68 sq km and mainly fosters port services such as logistics and warehousing, auto imports, special finance and also modern services including information, and conventions and exhibitions.

By the end of 2022, Chengdu opened 131 air routes to overseas regions, ranking fourth nationally. Its role as an air gateway to Europe and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is increasingly prominent. In 2022, the passenger throughput of Chengdu's international airports was more than 31.09 million, ranking first in China.