CHONGQING, China, March 5, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Chongqing's GDP growth in 2012 ranked second in China, economic data recently revealed. Chongqing Liangjiang New Area has become the core of inland economic development.

Period of accelerated growth  

The growth rate of the area's GDP hit 20.4% in 2012, faster than Shanghai Pudong and Tianjin Binhai new areas. The year-on-year increase of Chongqing's GDP was 13.6% last year, the fastest in west China and second-fastest in China.

After two years, Chongqing Liangjiang's total economy reached 147.622 billion yuan, equivalent to that of 1999, two years after Chongqing became a municipality. The cost advantage in mid-west China has improved confidence in sustainably boosting foreign trade and international competitiveness.

Leading import-export growth

In 2012, mid-west regions witnessed a rise in foreign trade despite the significant drop suffered nationally. Particularly, Liangjiang New Area has enhanced its opening-up over the past two years, especially in trade to Europe. Economic development and expanded foreign trade set numerous area records. Last year, the total export-import volume of Liangjiang New Area constituted almost half of the city's total, with a growth rate up to 200%.

Annual investment tops 100 billion yuan

Chongqing Liangjiang New Area realized annual fixed-asset investment of 123.757 billion yuan after two years; Binhai and Pudong new areas respectively spent 10 and 19 years realizing over one-hundred-billion-yuan investment in fixed assets.

The investment in fixed assets reflects the vitality of the regional economy. Liangjiang New Area stood out due to its huge investment and large-scale infrastructure construction. Major investment is orientated to infrastructure because raw materials, including energy resources, are priced relatively low. Liangjiang New Area's rapid investment growth laid a solid foundation for regional economic growth.

International investment, lower costs

Transnational corporations have started looking beyond coastal areas, and Fortune 500 enterprises in Liangjiang New Area more than doubled in two years, up to 113, including automobile, electronics, cloud computing, equipment manufacturing, low-altitude aircraft, pharmaceuticals, finance and logistics companies.

The establishment of the third national new area (Liangjiang New Area of Chongqing) marked the start of a new 10-year plan for Western China Development. The country's central and western areas took action to transfer industry from the east and attract foreign investment. Growth rate of utilized foreign investment in the central and western areas was higher than in the coastal regions for an increasing proportion of the country's total, driven by the potential market and lower costs.

The sales rate of large-scale industrial enterprises in Liangjiang New Area stood at 99.1 percent in 2012, a record highfor the past two years.

As for factor costs, the comprehensive costs of production factors including water, electricity, natural gas, land, labor force, etc. in Liangjiang New Area are nearly 40 percent lower than those in the coastal regions. Costs for land, construction and living support are also much lower than in the eastern areas. Public rentals with a total area of 17.52 million square meters have been constructed for employees.

SOURCE Chongqing Liangjiang New Area