Surrounded by mountains and great rivers, once described by American sinologist John King Fairbank as "a place where not even a flat piece of land exists," Chongqing has become the hub city connecting the world through railways, waterways, highways, and air routes. With the first China-Europe Railway Express departing from here, the New Western Land-Sea Corridor taking shape, and the Yangtze Golden Waterway intersecting with the Belt and Road — this mountain city has rewritten the very concept of "inland."
🚂 Transportation Hub: Bringing Inland Areas to the Forefront of Opening-Up
In April 2024, General Secretary Xi Jinping inspected Chongqing and tasked the city with building itself into a comprehensive inland opening-up hub, giving Chongqing an even greater mission in terms of hub functions and radiation-driven development.
Chongqing is accelerating the construction of nine key hubs — a gateway transportation hub, a land-sea coordinated logistics hub, an industrial supply chain hub with internal-external linkage, and more — moving toward a higher level of opening-up.
The city has been positioned as one of China's four national transportation poles alongside Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao. Flying south via the New Western Land-Sea Corridor to Southeast Asia, west via the China-Europe Railway to Europe, east via the Yangtze Golden Waterway to the Pacific, north via the "Chongqing-Manzhouli-Russia" railway to Russia, and air via an international hub covering five continents — Chongqing has truly become a hub city.
📦 Logistics Hub: Unblocking the "Tendons" of the Real Economy
Logistics is the "tendons" of the real economy. In Chongqing's opening-up journey, countless logistics companies support the rise of this "hub city."
Meilian International Logistics, established in 1994, grew from 6 employees to over 500, with 11 subsidiaries and an international logistics group spanning the globe. By serving core clients like Changan Automobile and Seres, the company has become the first private logistics enterprise in Chongqing to establish overseas subsidiaries in Russia and Kazakhstan.
In 2024, Chongqing added 77 international freight forwarding enterprise registrations, a year-on-year increase of 37.5%, bringing the total to 708 — ranking first in Southwest China. Among the 2024 Global Top 50 Sea Freight Forwarders, 27 have set up branches in Chongqing. Among the Global Top 50 Air Freight Forwarders, 29 have established presence in the city.
🏭 Industrial Chain Hub: From "Corridor Economy" to "Hub Economy"
Chongqing is deeply embedding itself in the global industrial chain. At the 46th Bangkok International Motor Show in 2025, Changan Automobile's Thailand production base debuted its first model — Deepal S05.
This cross-oceanic industrial expansion is a vivid illustration of Chongqing's deep integration into the global division of labor. Along with the car companies going overseas, their suppliers have also moved. Headlight suppliers, injection molding suppliers, wiring harness suppliers — the entire supply chain has set up production bases abroad, demonstrating Chongqing's industrial restructuring capability.
"Industrial chain coordinated going-out cannot be separated from a globally connected, efficient logistics hub and transportation gateway system. Through the China-Europe Railway Express, the New Western Land-Sea Corridor, and the Yangtze Golden Waterway, Chongqing is transforming its geographic hub advantages into industrial organization advantages," said Guo Bing, Director of Changan Automobile Southeast Asia Procurement Department.
In the Chongqing International Logistics Gateway Park, the former village of Tuanjie — once just farmland — has transformed into a multimodal transport hub, gathering over 5,400 domestic and foreign enterprises in industries covering complete vehicles, pharmaceuticals, cold chain, and more.
"Chongqing has broken free from the limitations of geography. As a hub driving regional development, this city is writing a new chapter of inland opening-up at a broader scope, higher level, and deeper field."
— On Chongqing's Transformation into a Hub City