The city’s administrative environment has been a major factor in its productivity, in capital, talent, project development, and technology and it is a benchmark of inland investment, thanks to its efficient modern administration and services.

In 2001, it took the lead in China in setting a goal for standardized, service-oriented government, by improving efficiency and government functions. After several rounds of downsizing, it managed to cut the amount of administrative offices from 179 to 48.

In 2004, it set up China’s first administrative service center for provincial and municipal services all in one office to provide one-stop service for anything the required administrative approval.

In 2007, it began experimenting with a “one window” approach to project approvals as part of its “second revolution”. This cut a lot of the manpower and paper costs and gave people a different, more positive, idea about government services. In 2010, Chengdu began a trial with an “online administrative hall” that let people consult with government offices online, all day long and allowed them to sit at home handling procedures, submitting application materials, and checking on the status of an application. This open administrative approach made everything more public.

With its service-oriented government and continued administrative reforms, Chengdu has improved its ability to attract investment and serve businesses in a professional way. This has allowed it to make the best of its administrative environment and become one of the most efficient cities in the country.

The Chengdu foreign-funded enterprise forum, which has been held every quarter since 2003, had its 48th session on March 29, 2012. This is a major forum for foreign backed enterprises that focuses on two things: direct communication between municipal officials and company executives for settling problems associated with business development, and creating a better investment environment to attract more foreign investment. The city is now known for its efficient administrative services by many foreign companies.

Thanks to its economic potential, innovative capacity, unique culture, experience with international conferences, and administrative services, Chengdu has been recognized by the World Bank as “China’s benchmark inland city for investment” and by the Taiwan Electrical Machine and Electronics Council as a “recommended city for investment on the mainland”. Influential Chinese and foreign institutions and the media have also hailed it as one of “China’s top 10 business cities”, “China’s top 10 cities in economic vitality”, the “Chinese city with greatest soft power”, “Chinese city with cultural progress”, and “Chinese city with the highest sense of happiness”, since 2004.

In 2010, a Forbes magazine article said that Chengdu would be one of the world’s fastest developing cities over the next 10 years.

In March 2012, in a report on the world’s most competitive cities from the Economist magazine and Citigroup, Chengdu ranked first in central and western China.

Now, 10 years after China’s joined the World Trade Organization, what can we say about the future? What influence will China have on the world economy? Well, Chengdu thinks that it knows the answer because, in 2013, it will host the Fortune Global Forum, and will begin a new journey. And, in the future, Chengdu will set new records along the path to economic development.