Engineers are testing products at the Dapeng UAV manufacturing base production workshop, in Tianfu New Area in Chengdu, Southwest China’s Sichuan Province. Photo: Courtesy of Chengdu Zongheng Automation Technology Co

Assembly lines are in rapid operation, workers are busy catching up with orders, and engineers are testing the UAV single piece sample on February 15, 2023 in the 54,000-square-meter new industrial park of the Dapeng UAV manufacturing base production workshop, in Tianfu New Area in Chengdu, Southwest China's Sichuan Province. 

This is the production scene of Chengdu Zongheng Automation Technology Co. In order to meet the capacity demand of independent operation, some employees moved to the base which is still in the trial operation stage in advance. Li Xiaoyan, executive vice president and secretary of the board of directors of the company, revealed that the planned investment here is about 340 million yuan ($49 million), where two factory buildings, a research and development building and corresponding living support will be built. After the construction, an annual production capacity of about 3,700 drones will be reached and the employment of 300-500 people will be created. The base is currently one of the largest production bases in the field of industrial drones in the industry.

'Hard' measures: shortened construction procedure, fast approval

Li said that it has been less than a year from the base investment to the completion of the land supply. After obtaining the land, Tianfu New Area sent the park construction leading team to help guide the construction procedures, greatly shortened the reported time of planning and construction. "This project has gone relatively smoothly overall," she concluded.

For the government and the enterprises, the start of the new year is "accelerative running." Chengdu gives full play to the city's consciousness of action to seize the moment, and has introduced 10 initiatives to continuously optimize and enhance the business environment, and a number of policy measures to support the high-level opening of the Chengdu International Railway Port Economic and Technological Development Zone. Chengdu brought a wisp of "spring breeze" for economic development in 2023.

Chen Pu, the customs manager of Boliton International Freight Forwarding Company, inspects the imported goods. Photo: Courtesy of Chen

'Soft' environment: optimized import and export mode, fast customs clearance

Recently, a China-European liner loaded with 20 tons of wood chips, arrived at the Chengdu International Railway Port in Qingbaijiang District from Poland via the "fast past mode." It is waiting for customs clearance in the customs supervised goods storage area.

As the agent to undertake this import, the customs manager of Boliton International Freight Forwarding Company Chen Pu said that, driven by the Chengdu China-European train, the company has seen a sharp increase in the number of imports and exports of general cargo products, covering a number of fields such as aviation, automotive, clothing, food, etc. In 2022, the company's overall turnover increased by 13.7 percent compared with last year, and the total profit margin increased to 3.3 percent.

The doubling of import and export business is inseparable from Chengdu's constantly optimized business environment. Chen said that since the "railroad express + car-side direct pickup" mode landed in Chengdu International Railway Port, the overall customs clearance has become two to three days faster and more than 1,000 yuan cheaper. "Our railroad express business has been further enhanced. More customers are willing to cooperate with us, and this kind of business now accounts for almost 20 percent to 30 percent of our import customs declarations," Chen said.

Since the launch of Chengdu’s new 12345 hotline, calls from enterprises surge. Photo: Courtesy of Chengdu network authorities

'Strong' confidence: helping enterprises to relieve difficulties and solve problems quickly

"What information do I have to provide and what process do I have to go through to get ready to go public? Does the government have any preferential policies and rewards for enterprises that are ready to go public?" Recently, a manager surnamed Yan of a technology-based enterprise located in Chengdu's Wuhou district, dialed the 12345 hotline as the company was ready to be listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board.

After receiving the hotline call, Wuhou district immediately joined hands with the district's human resources and social security administrators, taxation administrators, market supervision administrators and state capital and finance administrators to reply to the person concerned on the same day about the required processing procedures and materials needed by the business, social security, finance, taxation and provident fund departments.

Yan said that the problems reflected through 12345 help line were successfully addressed on the same day, and the staff of relevant departments had a good attitude faced with questions. The quick response and efficient completion of an enterprise's request is like a cardiac stimulant, which greatly encourages the enterprise to grow and develop.

On January 28, Chengdu's new 12345 hotline was officially launched. The platform innovatively integrates four major enterprise service platforms, namely Chengdu-to-do, Chengdu-to-enjoy, enterprise helpline and Chengdu-to-see.

Since its launch, the 12345 hotline and various government halls in Chengdu have received many calls from enterprises. According to the data of Chengdu network office, from January 28 to February 21, the 12345 helpline received a total of 6,784 calls and letters from enterprises, with an increase of 1,485.05 percent compared with the same period last year. Small and medium-sized enterprises, individual entrepreneurs and people who intend to invest in business are the majority, accounting for more than 90 percent.

Behind each figure are the enhanced confidence of enterprise development, the improving vitality of market subjects, and the rising passion to invest in Chengdu. The warmth showed in Chengdu's figures interprets the vitality of Chengdu market. With fast approval, fast customs clearance and fast processing, Chengdu is concentrating on creating a business environment "fast" lane, helping enterprises to develop additional momentum.