Southeast Asia Information Port (www.dnyxxg.com) – The Information Office of the Sichuan Provincial People's Government held the ninth press conference in Chengdu on the theme of "Winning the '14th Five-Year Plan' and Writing a New Chapter" on the 4th. At the conference, Zhang Tao, Director of the Sichuan Provincial Foreign Affairs Office, introduced that during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, Sichuan's foreign affairs and Hong Kong and Macao work, focusing on the overall national diplomacy and high-quality local development, achieved breakthroughs in major event support, international cooperation, and channel construction. At the same time, it continued to optimize the experience of foreign nationals in Sichuan, laying a solid foundation for building an inland open frontier.
Zhang Tao stated that Sichuan's foreign affairs and Hong Kong and Macao work during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period saw "a growing circle of friends and increasingly wider cooperation paths": successfully hosting the 31st Summer Universiade and successfully ensuring the success of the 5th China-Central Asia Foreign Ministers' Meeting, among other major international events. Since the beginning of this year, 28 delegations of foreign vice-ministerial level and above have visited Sichuan. The main leaders of the Sichuan Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government led delegations to key countries and regions in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America, signing multiple cooperation agreements in the fields of trade, science and technology, and energy. Over the past five years, 138 new international sister city and friendly cooperation relationships have been established, bringing the total to 543, covering the globe. Chengdu ranks fourth in China in the number of international sister city relationships. Consulates General of Nepal, Chile, Spain, Turkey, and Brazil have been opened in Chengdu, and 24 foreign consulates have been approved to establish offices in Sichuan.
Transportation is a crucial support for high-level opening-up. Hu Hongbo, Deputy Director of the Sichuan Provincial Department of Transportation, introduced that since the beginning of the 14th Five-Year Plan, Sichuan has accelerated its transformation from an "inland hinterland" to an "open frontier": The province now boasts 51 major transportation corridors connecting it to and from the mainland, including railways, highways, and waterways, efficiently linking 7 international land transport corridors and 4 international sea transport corridors. The Chengdu International Aviation Hub operates 99 international (regional) passenger and cargo routes, ranking first in Central and Western China. Efforts are being made to build an international transport network "westward to Europe, northward to Russia and Mongolia, eastward to Japan and South Korea, and southward to ASEAN." Nordic salmon can be delivered to Chengdu residents' tables in as little as 48 hours. In 2024, the province saw nearly 6 million inbound and outbound passengers, ranking fourth nationwide, and its import and export value exceeded 650 billion yuan, ranking third nationwide. The fifth national and the first Southwest China International Road Transport (TIR) assembly center was established in Sichuan.
Sichuan has implemented several reform measures to facilitate the lives of foreign nationals in the province. Zhang Tao introduced that Sichuan has optimized the convenience of inbound tourism by issuing policy documents such as the "Sichuan Province Action Plan for Further Promoting Inbound Tourism (2025-2027)"; improved the convenience of entry and exit by resuming, opening, and increasing the frequency of popular international passenger routes, promoting convenient ticketing methods such as "air-rail intermodal transport," and optimizing the passenger clearance experience; enhanced the convenience of foreign currency and foreign card payments by issuing a special support policy of "Six Measures to Improve the Convenience of Consumption and Payment for Foreigners in Sichuan," making Chengdu the first city in central and western China to achieve full support for direct payment of domestic and foreign bank cards on public transportation; optimized services for working, doing business, studying, and living in Sichuan by issuing a series of policies and measures for talent introduction and improving the business environment, promoting the "Study in Sichuan" brand and Sichuan's international Chinese language education to the world; and added that more than 200 medical institutions can now treat foreigners. (End)
