Illustration: Tang Tengfei/GT

The recommendations for formulating Chongqing's 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) for economic and social development call for supporting enterprises in creating "domestic + overseas" integrated supply chains and for exploring jointly operated cross-border industrial parks with Southeast Asian economies, the Chongqing Daily reported on Monday. While these measures may appear to be incremental adjustments by a fast-growing inland city, they signal a broader landscape and offer insight into how the opening of China's interior regions is facilitating cross-border industrial integration and the configuration of increasingly distributed supply chains.

Cross-border industrial parks are not a new concept, but Chongqing's sustained opening enables inland regions to participate more fully in broader regional value chains. As logistics corridors expand and demand for cross-border industrial cooperation grows, the city is exploring ways to link its manufacturing base more directly with economies in Southeast Asia. In this evolving landscape, the notion of "proximity" is being redefined: it depends less on geographic distance and more on the continuation of high-level openness, reliable transport networks, and complementary industrial structures that support a more closely connected supply-chain ecosystem.

Chongqing's evolving industrial landscape further illustrates these trends. Strengthened connectivity remains important, particularly given the city's role as an operational hub in the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, a key logistics network connecting China's western regions to global markets. At the same time, the city is expanding emerging industries, advancing technological and digital-economy development, and enhancing the investment environment. 

Together, these multi-dimensional efforts - including improved connectivity, industrial upgrading, and the sustained opening of the region - support the development of cross-border supply chains and greater integration of inland production into regional networks.

Chongqing's experience is not isolated, but it offers a lens for observing broader trends in inland China. New initiatives are gradually creating opportunities for the development of cross-border industrial networks. Expanding trade and transport links helps these cities integrate more effectively into regional supply chains. 

Amid rising global protectionism and unilateral trade measures, inland cities are contributing to broader economic stability and generating new opportunities for industrial collaboration across borders. Their growing participation in regional production networks indicates that China's interior is becoming increasingly integrated into multi-layered supply chains, supporting both economic diversification and cross-border connectivity.

High-level opening-up in inland regions is already reflected in measurable trade outcomes. In the first 10 months of this year, the foreign trade of the China (Chongqing) Pilot Free Trade Zone accounted for 60.33 percent of the city's total. During the same period, Zhengzhou's total imports and exports reached 508.58 billion yuan ($71.96 billion), up 18 percent year-on-year. In the first half of the year, the Chengdu High-tech Comprehensive Bonded Zone's imports and exports totaled 267.32 billion yuan, a 13.5 percent increase year-on-year, ranking first among all comprehensive bonded zones nationwide.

Deeper, multi-layered changes are emerging in China's inland regions. First, high-level opening-up is shifting the focus of industrial clusters from merely hosting relocated supply chains to establishing new links that leverage local research and development capabilities, fostering more endogenous innovation and higher-value production. 

According to the Science and Technology Daily, Chongqing has long maintained its position as one of the world's largest sources of notebook computer output. Zhengzhou has built industrial clusters in electronic smart products, aviation logistics, and precision manufacturing. Meanwhile, industries in Xi'an (semiconductors), Chengdu (software and information technology), and Wuhan (optoelectronics) have upgraded from simple processing to full-fledged high-end manufacturing.

Second, high-level opening-up is facilitating the construction of economic corridors. Enhanced transport and logistics infrastructure enables inland cities to connect more effectively with regional and international supply chains.

As of the end of 2024, the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor had operated 15,000 regular rail-sea intermodal trains, nearly 1,900 international rail transport trains, and more than 22,000 cross-border road trips, reaching 548 ports across 126 countries and regions. In recent years, Zhengzhou has emerged as a key hub on the "Air Silk Road," with the airport ranking first in Central China and fifth nationwide in international cargo volume. Since the beginning of this year, more than 2,800 China-Europe freight trains have been dispatched, a year-on-year increase of approximately 50 percent.

Against this backdrop, Chongqing's cross-border industrial parks highlight how inland China's ongoing opening is creating new opportunities for cross-border supply chains. These hubs may support deeper cooperation among regional economies along these networks, illustrating the potential for mutually reinforcing development.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. bizopinion@globaltimes.com.cn