CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- “I came to Chongqing at the age of 35 from Taiwan, which is 1,900 kilometers away, and now I’m 69 years old. Do you think I am a Taiwanese or a Chongqing person?”

Li Wenxun, Executive Vice President of the Association of Taiwan Investment Enterprises on the Mainland, began the symposium on the 2024 Taiwan Enterprises’ Tour to Western China with a special prologue on April 23. He stressed that he marveled at how Chongqing has developed at an astonishing speed over the past decades.

As one of the very first Taiwan businessmen settling down in Chongqing, he remembered that Chongqing was a typical industrial inland city with few cabs and only two cross-river bridges. Today, it has become a metropolis with a high level of openness, a well-developed and multi-level transportation network incorporating land, water, and air transport, 37 cross-river bridges, and fast-rising logistics, commerce, and trade industries.

Li Wenxun sat up straight, with his smiling face radiant with pride. “I am one of the witnesses, builders, and sharers of the development of Chongqing, so I am qualified to introduce Chongqing to you,” said Li. Subsequently, he talked about his growth and the development of enterprises in Chongqing, as well as the investment policies and the level of openness of Chongqing in the symposium. He was so familiar with Chongqing’s development that it seemed he was a spokesman for Chongqing.

More than 100 businessmen of well-known Taiwanese enterprises from Xiamen, Dongguan, etc., and representatives of Taiwanese youth listened to the speech with great interest and were sometimes amused by Li’s Chongqing dialect. These Taiwanese enterprises are engaged in the fields of electronic information, automobile manufacturing, etc., which highly match the pillar industries in Chongqing. All participants were taking notes carefully.

“I hope that in the next decade, I can say that I’m from Chongqing.” Ji Boyan, Director of Fuzhou Xinxin Brake System Co., Ltd., expressed his desire to visit Chongqing. Ji has been doing business in Xiamen for 11 years and often introduces himself to others as a Xiamen native. After hearing others’ stories in Chongqing, he began to look forward to cooperating with Chongqing enterprises and living in Chongqing.

Jiang Deshan, Deputy General Manager of BizLink Electronics (Kunshan) Co., Ltd. (Asia Pacific Region), put down his prepared speech and said, “Chongqing is not as serious as I expected. You didn’t read from your prepared speeches, but you directly shared real stuff with us.”

With the expectation of “investing in Chongqing” and “living in Chongqing resident”, Ji Boyan, Jiang Deshan, and many other Taiwan business leaders, started their visit to Chongqing.

They will visit Western (Chongqing) Science City in Chongqing High-tech Development Zone, Bishan Digital Economy Industrial Park, Chongqing Western Electronic Circuit Industrial Park, Great Wall Motor Intelligent Factory in Yongchuan, Chongqing, etc. to gain some insight into the economic and social development of Chongqing and witness the development level of Chongqing’s characteristic and competitive industries. (Translated by Yuki, Fathom Language Limited)