A Lumin model drives past Hongyadong, a famous scenic area in Chongqing. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Statistics suggested that last year, the municipality's exports and imports were valued at 800.06 billion yuan ($119.53 billion), up 22.8 percent, 1.4 percentage points higher than the national average, and ranking second in western China.

The number of Chongqing-made laptop exports has ranked first in the country for the past three years, and its exports of motorbikes and automobiles rank first and fifth in China, respectively. Chongqing is currently doing business with 215 countries and regions, and its exports and imports with ASEAN countries, the EU and the United States have increased 15.2 percent, 19.5 percent and 11.4 percent, respectively. It has also witnessed a foreign trade surge of 26 percent with countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative.

Last year, Chongqing's forest coverage rate reached 54.5 percent, and it had 94,949.7 hectares of green area. The overall water quality of the Chongqing section of the Yangtze River remained excellent, while the underground water quality remained stable, with all water from urban centralized drinking water sources having met relevant standards.

In 2021, Chongqing boasted 326 days with good air quality, and invested a total of 95.65 billion yuan (accounting for 3.4 percent of its GDP) in environmental protection.

Chongqing's Engel coefficient last year stood at 33.2 percent, reaching the development level of a moderately developed country. It reaped 10.81 million metric tons of grain and ensured all kinds of food are traceable from the field to the table. Engel coefficient, the proportion of money in household expenses spent on food, reflects economic status. A decreasing Engel coefficient usually indicates economic growth with a rising income level.

Over this period, the municipality's per capita housing area was 46.1 square meters, 2.2 sq m higher than the national average in terms of per capita housing area for urban residents.