Chongqing’s economic plans signal continuity even as city tries to tap trends

CHONGQING - Chongqing, China’s largest city and one of its faster-growing ones, is hoping to bank on emerging trends to boost its economy in 2026, even as it doubles down on familiar and reliable engines of growth.

The municipality in south-western China will be unveiling measures later in 2026 to snag a larger slice of the country’s growing “emotional economy”, and to push ahead with plans to turn Chongqing into the country’s capital city for intelligent connected vehicles, said its mayor Hu Henghua on Jan 28.

He was delivering Chongqing’s government work report at the annual meetings of the city’s legislature and advisory body.

Apart from Chongqing, China’s other municipalities, provinces and regions are holding such meetings in the coming weeks in the run-up to the March meetings of the country’s national Parliament and top advisory body known as the lianghui, or Two Sessions.

In his delivery of his government’s annual work report, Mr Hu named boosting domestic demand as the municipality’s top priority, followed by the accelerated development of its advanced manufacturing industries.

Chongqing’s move to grow its “emotional economy” comes as the booming consumption trend takes hold worldwide.

“Emotional economy” is a catch-all term that refers to a growing consumption trend describing how consumers are turning to products and experiences that go beyond utility to how they feel about their purchases. These include blind boxes,

toy collectibles like Labubu

and experiences such as attending concerts, exhibitions and music festivals.

A report by iiMedia Research, a Chinese consultancy company, estimated that China’s emotional economy is expected to surpass 4.5 trillion yuan (S$817.5 billion) in 2029, based on capital markets calculations, almost doubling the 2.3 trillion yuan recorded in 2024.

But even as Chongqing seeks to capitalise on emerging trends, its latest plans also send a message of continuity and consistency.

For instance, the city, which has been a car-making hub since its military factories were turned into production lines for cars and motorcycles after World War II, will continue to grow its car industry as part of a development plan rolled out in 2023.

The city is the headquarters of the country’s state-owned carmaker Changan Automobile, which has its roots as an arms producer, and Seres Group, which specialises in new energy vehicles.

In 2025, Chongqing overtook Shenzhen in southern Guangdong province as China’s top car producer, making a total of 2.78 million cars, according to official reports. Guangdong – as a whole – manufactured 2.71 million cars in the first 11 months of 2025, official data showed. 

Chongqing is also considered to be one of China’s faster-growing cities apart from the traditional economic powerhouses such as the capital Beijing, financial hub Shanghai and Shenzhen, the country’s Silicon Valley.

The municipality’s economic plans are also expected to drive further growth in western and south-western China, this being part of the country’s strategic directives set by Chinese President Xi Jin­ping.

Municipalities have higher political status than provinces, and Chongqing, which has a population of 31.9 million, is China’s only municipality in its western and south-western region, the other municipalities being Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin.

Mr Hu, in his speech, did not shy away from problems that Chongqing is facing. He said that the authorities are working against “weak market expectations, and insufficient growth momentum in investment and consumption”.

Other problems include “idle and inefficient properties in urban areas (with) improvements needed in agricultural and rural modernisation”, he said, adding that more must also be done to prevent a backslide into poverty.

For 2025, Chongqing missed its growth target of 6 per cent, recording an increase of 5.3 per cent – its lowest rate since China in 2022

lifted its zero-Covid policy

which had hampered economic activity – though it beat the national average of 5 per cent.

In 2024, it grew 5.7 per cent, down from the 6.1 per cent it recorded in 2023.

It is setting a growth target of above 5 per cent for 2026.

Chongqing’s and other local lianghui build momentum towards the national meetings that are closely watched for signs on the economic and social priorities of the world’s second-largest economy. They also provide clues as to what China’s national growth target will be for the year, and policymakers’ assessment of the country’s opportunities and threats.

For example, southern Guangdong, China’s richest province which also started its lianghui earlier this week, expects to grow 4.5 per cent to 5 per cent in 2026 while capital city Beijing is aiming to grow above 5 per cent.

At the national lianghui, the country’s premier will be giving the national government work report in which he will be mapping out plans for the coming year and announce the national target for growth.

Ms Guo Shan, a partner at Hutong consultancy in Shanghai, said she expects China to continue working on boosting domestic demand, in particular its services sector.

Officials from the Commerce Ministry said at a press conference on Jan 26 that service consumption has continued to lead growth in China.

They pointed to how retail sales of services rose 5.5 per cent in 2025, with cultural, leisure, tourism and consulting services all recording double-digit increases.

The 2026 national lianghui also takes on extra significance as China charts its course for the five years from 2026 to 2030.

It released recommendations for its

15th five-year plan

in October 2025 that prioritises the modernisation of traditional industries.

The final plan is expected to be released during the lianghui in March.

For Chongqing, Mr Hu said during his address at the municipality’s Great Hall of The People that the municipality’s five-year plan includes continuing to develop its high-tech industries, grow its logistics network and raise residents’ incomes.

“We will strive to solidify our development advantages, break through bottlenecks and strengthen our shortcomings and weaknesses,” he added.