It's been one of the world's fastest developing cities, and may hold the keys to many more breakthroughs. The southwestern Chinese city of Chongqing sits at the junction of a major economic belt and China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI.) And with hundreds of companies now calling it home, Chongqing is where the future is expected to shine brightly for China, and for the world.

70 years of economic development have paved the way for Chongqing's innovation-driven future. Officials from the southwestern Chinese city joined colleagues at China's State Council Information Office in Beijing on Wednesday, highlighting the past, present, and future.

Zhang Ming, the director general of CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee's publicity department, said: "Chongqing is a heavy hitter in the manufacturing industry. The advantages are obvious, the application scene is also very rich, the market space is wide, the social atmosphere is strong, and the development of the digital economy has a good foundation.”

In 2018, Chongqing brought in 522.26 billion yuan in foreign trade, imports and exports. That's over 73 billion US dollars.

"We have poured a lot into the development of the BRI, and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, striving to take the lead in opening up the western region, and focusing on opening up channels to build inland international hub support," said by Tang Liangzhi, deputy secretary of CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee.

Chongqing sits conveniently along the Yangtze River economic belt, making it a major player in China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Nicknamed the "city of bridges," Chongqing is also home to transportation marvels like the new land-sea corridor, which includes rail-sea intermodal transport and cross-border bus and railway lines.

Tang Liangzhi also mentioned that the China-EU railway (Chongqing) has a cumulative operation of more than 4100 trains. As for the New Land and Sea Passageway, the rail-sea train runs through 1200 classes. The Belt and Road Initiative and the Yangtze River economic belt create a seamless connection in Chongqing.

Looking ahead, Chongqing is implementing a new action plan of innovation-driven development led by big data and artificial intelligence. City officials promise to promote a new pattern of western development in the 2020s and beyond.