Profiles of China Provinces, Cities and Industrial Parks

Major Economic Indicators

Notes: ¹ In Renminbi real term 
            ² For all state-owned and other forms of enterprises with annual sales over RMB 5 million
Sources: Sichuan Statistical Yearbook 2011, China Customs Statistics, 12.2010, 9.2011

General Background

Sichuan is located at the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in southwestern China. It has a total area of 485,000 sq. km. Total resident population stood at 80.4 million in 2010. Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, is the western hub for business and trade.

Sichuan is rich in natural resources and has the most well developed industrial sector in the region. Sichuan is also one of the major agricultural production bases in China, its output of rice, wheat, rapeseed, citrus fruit, peach, sugar cane, sweet potato and Chinese herbs all account for a significant share of China’s total.

The private sector in Sichuan has grown fast in recent years. It is estimated that the private sector accounted for 54.2% of the GDP in 2009. Sichuan has developed a number of famous local enterprises and brands, including the country’s largest color TV producer -- Changhong Electric Group Co. Ltd.（長虹）; steel company -- Panzhihua Steel Group（攀枝花）, alcohol manufacturers -- Wuliangye Group（五糧液）, Jiannanchun Group（劍南春）and Luzhoulaojiao（瀘洲老窖）; medicine manufacturers -- Di’ao Group Company（地奥）and Di’kang Group（迪康）; and animal feed company – New Hope（新希望）.

Industries

Sichuan is strong in agriculture. In 2010, its added value in the primary industry ranked 5th among all provinces.

Composition of GDP (%)

Source: Sichuan Statistical Yearbook 2011

Sichuan is one of the most industrialized provinces in western China. While heavy industries (67.5% of the gross industrial output value in 2010) such as coal, energy and iron and steel remain as dominating sectors, the province has also established a light manufacturing sector comprising building materials, wood processing, food, silk processing, etc.

Sichuan’s production of colour TV, natural gas, electricity, steel, cement, Chinese medicine, wine and chemical fibre are the largest among the western provinces.

Output Share of Leading Industry Groups (2010)

# For all state-owned enterprises and other forms with annual sales over RMB 5 million
Source: Sichuan Statistical Yearbook 2011

Sichuan’s high-tech industry has been developing fast. In 2010, high-tech products achieved a gross industrial output at RMB496 billion (+28%), accounting for 21% of the province’s gross industrial output. Sichuan has more than 70 universities and two state level hi-tech industries development zones – The Chengdu New and Hi-tech Industries Development Zone (CDDZ), and the Mianyang New and Hi-tech Industries Development Zone (MYDZ). These zones have attracted a number of internationally renowned IT companies such as Microsoft, Cisco, Intel, IBM and Motorola to set up R&D centers.

Sichuan is richly endowed with herbs (around 5,000 species) and is the home to many senior Chinese medicine doctors. Sichuan is strong in R&D of modern Chinese medicine. Chengdu is selected by the Ministry of Science and Technology to set up the first state-level Modernized Science and Technology Industry Base for Traditional Chinese Medicine. A number of Hong Kong companies have invested in modernising traditional Chinese medicine, including New World Group.

Tourism

Sichuan has abundant tourism resources: it is home to the giant panda; it has four world natural heritages and nine national AAAA grade nature parks, the largest number in China. Its internationally famous scenic attractions include Mt. Emei（峨眉山）, Jiuzhaigou Valley（九寨溝） and Dujiangyan Irrigation System（都江堰）. Due to the earthquake, the number of overseas tourist dropped markedly in 2008.

Source: Sichuan Statistical Yearbook 2011

Foreign Trade

Foreign trade grew strongly in the past few years. In terms of total trade, Sichuan ranked number 11 among other provinces, but is the leading export base in the western region. It was the only provinces that recorded positive growth in both exports and imports in 2009. Major export markets included the US, Hong Kong, India, Russia, Indonesia and Japan.

Major import sources were the US, Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Germany and Taiwan. Major imports included machinery and electric equipment, video and audio appliances, transport equipments and minerals.

As a result of increased foreign investment in recent years, foreign trade conducted by foreign investment enterprises has risen. In the first nine months of 2011, exports conducted by FIE increased by 133.5%, accounting for 39% of the province’s total exports.

Foreign Investment

Sichuan came first in attracting FDI among all western provinces. Utilized FDI increased by 67.8% to US$6 billion in 2010. Hong Kong is the leading investor.

By the end of 2010, 160 of the world’s top 500 companies have invested in Sichuan, such as Intel, Onsun, Sony, Masrsk, UPS, Sanyo and Kingfisher etc., most of them are located in Chengdu.

Consumer Market

Sichuan has the biggest consumer market in western China. In 2010, annual per capita disposal income of urban households reached RMB15,461 (+11.7%).

Composition of Per Capita Expenditure of Urban Household (%)

Source: Sichuan Statistical Yearbook, 2011

Since China fully liberalizes the retail and wholesale distribution sector, the expansion of foreign retail enterprises into Sichuan has speeded up in recent years. Major foreign retail enterprises include Metro（麥德龍）from Germany, Carrefour from France, Trust-mart（好又多）, Pacific（太平洋）from Taiwan, Itoyokado（伊藤洋華堂）from Japan, and Parkson（百盛）from Singapore.

Economic Indicators of Major Cities (2010)

Notes:  # For all state-owned enterprises and other forms with annual sales over RMB 5 million
Source: Sichuan Statistical Yearbook, 2011