Chengdu, capital of Southwest China's Sichuan province, has set a gross domestic product growth target of above 6 percent this year.
"Chengdu's GDP has reached a historic milestone of over 2 trillion yuan ($219 billion), with abundant opportunities, strong resilience and vitality, and great potential for economic and social development," said Wang Fengchao, mayor of the city.
Wang made the remarks in the government work report at the first session of the 18th Chengdu Municipal People's Congress, which opens on Feb 21.
He said Chengdu's GDP has increased by 6.2 percent in average over the past five years to 2.08 trillion yuan in 2022. The number of national high-tech enterprises has increased 2.6 times to 11,400, and the revenue of high-tech industries has reached 1.26 trillion yuan.
A total of 315 Fortune Global 500 companies have set up operations in Chengdu. The number of foreign consular offices approved to be set up in Chengdu has reached 23, the most among cities in central and western China, according to the report.
Wang said Chengdu will give priority to the recovery and expansion of consumption in 2023, and will introduce policies and measures to boost consumption.
The city is scheduled to introduce more than 500 new first stores this year, and to create 16 demonstration and characteristic consumption scenes, said the report.
It will also encourage the consumption of new energy vehicles, and expand the consumption of specialty products and services such as medical cosmetology and hanfu (a traditional Chinese style of clothing), as well as the consumption of services such as elderly care, medical care, culture and sports.
Chengdu will increase project investment in 2023. It aims to implement 380 major projects this year, according to the report.
The work report also sets out the objectives and tasks of the Chengdu municipal government for the next five years.
Chengdu will build two industries worth 1 trillion yuan in the next five years and a cluster of more than ten pillar industries worth more than 100 billion yuan. The added value of strategic emerging industries and core industries of digital economy will account for more than 20 percent and 15 percent of the regional GDP, respectively.
By 2027, Chengdu's GDP is expected to reach 3 trillion yuan, while its foreign trade volume is expected to exceed 1.2 trillion yuan, according to the report.
(APD)