City of contrasts

When the residents of Chongqing go to work in the morning, Siemens rides along with them. After all, the urban light rail system, in operation since 2004, is equipped with control technology, power supply and signal systems supplied by the company. Chongqing is something special, even in Chinese terms. With a population of nearly 32 million, Chongqing is the largest city in the world. Along with Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin, it is also one of China’s direct-controlled municipalities. This means that it does not belong to a province or an autonomous region, but instead is administered directly by the central government.

However, the population size is relative when viewed from the perspective of Chongqing’s history. In fact, “only” four million people live within the actual city limits. In March 1997, the Chinese parliament decided to combine the eastern part of the Sichuan province with the actual metropolis to form the “direct-controlled municipality” of Chongqing. The two cities of Wanxian and Fuling were also added to the new administrative unit.

Capricious geography. In terms of geography, the region has advantages and disadvantages. A negative aspect is its distance from the capital and coastal areas. It is 1,500 kilometers to Beijing and another thousand kilometers to Shanghai by water. Until the Three Gorges Dam was completed, only small ships were able to reach the city on the Yangtze River. Many people who were resettled during the dam’s construction found a new home in Chongqing.

On the positive side, Chongqing is located in the Red Basin, China’s “rice bowl”. The region has a mild climate, diverse vegetation and advanced irrigation systems. The land here has been worked intensively since the third century B.C. The Red Basin is also rich in natural gas and coal deposits. Other mineral resources, such as barium, strontium and mercury, are also extremely important to industry.

Spearheading development. These favorable conditions have turned Chongqing into a booming industrial city. Industrial plants were located here even before the Second World War and after the People’s Republic of China was founded in 1949.

The economic reforms instituted under Deng Xiaoping, China’s strongman from 1976 into the 1990s, caught on faster here than anywhere outside the coastal regions. In the mid-1990s, the central government decided that Chongqing would spearhead development in China’s underdeveloped West. The full investment program between 2000 and 2005 amounted to 75 billion US dollars, 22 billion of which went to the city and region along the Yangtze.

Expanding the infrastructure. This program created new jobs and maintained old ones for 30 million people. Homes, roads, schools and hospitals had to be built. Residents needed a reliable supply of water and electricity.

Support for finding economical, long-term solutions to infrastructure problems was needed. Siemens supplied building technology for the city’s new international airport as well as for the trade show building and numerous hotels.

State-of-the-art technology provides mobility. Chongqing has a tradition of building automobiles and motorcycles. The largest company is the Chang’an Automotive Group, which employs 43,000 people.

The Group has founded two joint ventures with Suzuki and Ford over the past fifteen years, making it the fourth largest vehicle manufacturer in the country. Siemens is one of Chang’an's key suppliers, providing products such as airbag control and locking systems, alarm systems and sensors as well as instruments. These products are manufactured in Siemens’ Chinese plants, since a large share of local production is a key factor in success on the local auto market.

Ultrasound to fight cancer. Siemens also has cooperative arrangements with medical companies. Since early 2006, the Group has been cooperating with the Chongqing Haifu Technology Company (Haifu). Magnetic resonance imaging technology from Siemens, combined with Haifu’s experience in ultrasound therapy, enables tumors to be visualized and treatment delivered right where it’s needed. Haifu President Wang Zhibiao is happy with the arrangement. “Thanks to our collaboration with Siemens, we can make our innovative cancer treatment available to patients all over the world.”