Chengdu and Chongqing, the two largest cities in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, are seeking more cooperation to promote common development.

The Chenghua district of Chengdu, Chengdu Commission of Commerce and Chengdu Investment Promotion Commission jointly held a promotional event in Chongqing on Wednesday to bring new business opportunities to the two cities.

The event promoted 16 high-quality building projects in Chenghua district to some 100 business associations, companies and organizations in Chongqing. Companies from Chenghua also visited the Chongqing World Financial Center to communicate with their local counterparts.

Located in the northeast of Chengdu's urban area, Chenghua is the largest of the city's five central districts with land area of 110 square kilometers. Its GDP reached 65.1 billion yuan ($10.22 billion) in 2014, of which the service sector accounted for 89.4 percent.

"Chenghua district is blessed with huge development potential as it is a key hub in East Chengdu that connects the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Zone, the Chengdu-Deyang-Miangyang economic circle and the Southern Sichuan Economic Zone," said Liu Guangqiang, chief of Chenghua district.

The Chengdu East Railway Station in Chenghua is the largest comprehensive transportation hub in Southwest China, connecting Chengdu to a number of important cities.

Its urban renewal projects also provide Chenghua with great opportunities and the district has the largest area of land available for development. By 2020, it will have 26.65 sq km of newly added land for construction, accounting for one-third of the newly added construction land in the central districts, according to Liu.

"The development of commercial real estate acts as a new growth point for the district's economic development. Top real estate companies such as Wharf Holdings, Sino Group, Vanke and Poly Real Estate have come to invest in Chenghua," he said.

Chengdu has achieved remarkable success in developing commercial real estate, despite the economic downturn in China and the rest of the world.

Chengdu International Finance Square in the downtown area opened in January 2014 and is a large commercial complex with a shopping mall, five-star hotel, office buildings and luxury apartments.

Founded by Wharf Holdings, a listed property and infrastructure company based in Hong Kong, Chengdu IFS is the first of five IFS projects being developed by the group on the Chinese mainland. It offers 760,000 sq m of space and brought about 300 luxury, jewelry and fashion labels to Chengdu.

Chengdu Yintai Center in the south of the city includes a Waldorf Astoria hotel, shopping mall, high-end office buildings and apartments. The hotel is the third Waldorf Astoria on the Chinese mainland, after Shanghai and Beijing.

Other well-known commercial properties include the Chengdu Zhonghai International Center, the Tongwei International Center, China Resources Building and the Yanlord Landmark.

Cooperating cities

In addition to collaborations in commercial real estate, Chengdu and Chongqing have broad prospects for cooperation in many other fields.

"The two cities are tied to each other not only in their location, history and culture, but also in trade, economy and industries," said Yin Jian, deputy director of the Chengdu Commission of Commerce.

About 300 kilometers apart, Chengdu and Chongqing are connected by seven highways and four railway lines. The Chengdu-Chongqing high-speed railway, expected to go into operation by the end of this year, will shorten train travel time between the cities to one hour.

The two cities are both economic powerhouses in western China. The GDP of them totals one-sixth of the 12 provincial administrative regions, and the population accounts for 12.6 percent. They are both top destinations for multinationals to invest in western China.

The Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Zone, approved by the State Council in 2011, aims to become an important economic growth pole by 2015, joining the Yangtze River Delta, the Pearl River Delta and the Bohai Economic Rim.

"With the implementation of the country's westward development strategy and the Belt and Road Initiative, the two cities are faced with similar development opportunities. The cooperation between them will certainly boost mutual development," Yin said. He suggested the two cities should cooperate in-depth in the modern service industry.

Wei Qiang, director of the Bureau of Commerce of Chongqing's Yuzhong district, said the cities could work together as a major transportation hub from western China to Europe.

"Both the two cities lie at the intersection of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road, and the Yangtze River Economic Zone, and they both operate express railways to Europe," he said.

Furthermore, Chengdu is the largest aviation hub in western China, with 163 domestic and 83 international routes; while Chongqing has the largest inland port in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

pengchao@chinadaily.com.cn