(The 100th Anniversary of the Communist Party of China) Chongqing, the "Crab Eater" of the Comprehensive Reform of the Urban Economic System: Standing at the Forefront of Inland Opening

　　China News Service, Chongqing, April 6th, title: "Crab Eaters" in the Comprehensive Reform of the Urban Economic System Chongqing: Standing at the Forefront of Inland Opening

　　China News Service reporter Zhong Yi

　　Chongqing, the only municipality directly under the Central Government in western China, is speeding up the construction of an inland open highland, a place with beautiful mountains and clear waters.

In 2020, the city's regional GDP reached 2.5 trillion yuan, ranking fifth in China.

　　From the absence of direct export rights before 1983, the foreign trade station will rise to a level of 650 billion yuan by 2020; from thriving on the water and trapped in the mountains, to breaking the constraints of traffic "congenital insufficiency", building a "extending" water, iron and air logistics channel; From the single-industry "city of automobiles and motorcycles" to 25% of the world’s notebook computers "Made in Chongqing"... Chongqing, which is not bordered by the sea, will be “opened up” wider and wider. "Economic direct administration" has played an important role.

　　After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, with the success of China's rural economic system reform, urban economic system reform has also been put on the agenda.

At that time, urban production was highly socialized, and fiscal revenue accounted for the bulk of the country’s fiscal revenue, and there were intricate economic ties.

The "complexity" of the reform made the central government decide to "try first, then roll out."

　　In 1983, the central government approved Chongqing as the first major city in China to conduct a comprehensive reform of the economic system. It implemented a separate plan and was given the mission of "invigorating the economy and opening up new prospects."

　　Yu Rongxin, a third-level investigator of the Second Division of the Research Office of the Party History Research Office of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, introduced that the reason why Chongqing was "the first to eat crabs" was based on its own advantages.

Around 1980, the total industrial output value of Chongqing accounted for one-sixth of the southwestern region. The city has a large volume, a good industrial foundation, abundant resources, and a good business flow system.

Take the industrial category as an example. In 1981, the industry was divided by industry system. Chongqing had all 14 major departments, 43 small departments and 144 out of 166 industries.

　　There is no ready-made model. Chongqing has "crossed the river by feeling the stones" in key aspects such as improving the planning system, enterprise management system, circulation system, fiscal, taxation and financial system, labor and wage system, and appropriately expanding the scope of Chongqing's administrative region.

Someone joked that Chongqing was "wearing a short pants to engage in pilot projects."

　　During the comprehensive reform pilot period from 1983 to 1987, Chongqing launched a series of beneficial explorations: reforming the "profit-to-tax" and wage reward system; exploring new ways to combine military and civilian production; carrying out technological transformation of old enterprises; reforming foreign trade System, open up the Yangtze River channel, give full play to the role of Chongqing's inland river foreign trade port; rationally organize the circulation of commodities with the city as the center, and further invigorate the economy.

　　Taking corporate reorganization to improve production efficiency as an example, Chongqing Watch Industry Co., Ltd. cooperated with 14 factories in Chongqing and neighboring counties and three watch factories in Chengdu, Guiyang, and Kunming. The annual production capacity was increased from 500,000 to 1.4 million, and the three watch factories in Chengdu, Guiyang and Kunming, which could only produce spare parts, soon produced "Rongcheng" brand, "Zhucheng" brand and "Chuncheng" brand watches. .

　　“The reform pilot not only improved the infrastructure, but also reflected in all aspects of transportation and living standards.” Ai Xinquan, former deputy inspector of the Party History Research Office of the Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, recalled that in 1983, he had just graduated from university and joined the Chongqing Municipal Party Committee. There is only one hand-cranked telephone in each office.

By the end of 1984, 50,000 telephones had landed in Chongqing, and every office had them.

　　"The past" directly reflects Chongqing's breakthrough in "provincial economic management authority" after the reform pilot.

One year before the pilot reform, Yu Hanqing, the mayor of Chongqing at the time, visited France and reached a sister city agreement with Toulouse.

In the first year of the reform pilot, the Mayor of Toulouse paid a return visit. As there was no direct flight, the other side had to fly to Shanghai and transit to Chongqing. It happened that the Chongqing Baishiyi Airport was closed due to heavy fog, and the other side stayed in Shanghai for 3 days. , Sorry to go back home.

This matter attracted the attention of the leaders of the Chongqing Municipal Party Committee of the Communist Party of China, who felt that an all-weather airport should be built.

At the end of 1984, Chongqing Jiangbei Airport with an investment budget of 260 million yuan was formally established.

Previously, Chongqing had no economic autonomy, and projects worth more than RMB 1.5 million had to be submitted to Sichuan Province for approval.

　　"After the pilot, Chongqing’s economic strength has been significantly enhanced, and its status as a central city has become more prominent." Ma Shulin, former deputy director of the Chongqing Development and Reform Commission, introduced that Chongqing’s total economic volume grew rapidly during the reform pilot, with an average annual GDP growth of 14.1%. The average level is 12%; the average annual investment in urban infrastructure is 2 billion yuan.

　　In terms of opening up to the outside world, during the comprehensive reform pilot period, Chongqing signed 3546 economic and technological cooperation projects with other places, attracting foreign investment of 360 million yuan; establishing economic, trade and friendly cooperative relations with nearly 100 countries and regions around the world, and signed a total of There are 83 foreign investment contracts with a value of 145 million U.S. dollars.

In 1987, Chongqing’s foreign exchange earnings from foreign trade reached 223 million U.S. dollars, an increase of 6.8 times over 1983.

　　Ma Shulin believes that this reform pilot also laid the foundation and created conditions for Chongqing to become a municipality directly under the Central Government in 1997.

　　Nowadays, although Chongqing is located in the hinterland, it has long been at the forefront of inland opening up.