Sichuan Unveils Chengdu Metropolitan Area Plan Targeting RMB3.95 Trillion GDP by 2030
Sichuan province released the 15th Five-Year Plan for integrated development of the Chengdu metropolitan area, targeting a regional GDP of RMB3.95 trillion by 2030, with the broader four-city area aiming for RMB4.1 trillion. The plan covers infrastructure, industry, and urban-rural integration. In 2025, the area's GDP reached RMB3.13 trillion, up 5.8% year on year, accounting for 46.3% of the province's total.
The Sichuan provincial government published the "Chengdu Metropolitan Area 15th Five-Year Plan for Integrated Development" on its website on September 9. The plan sets a target for the metropolitan area's gross domestic product to reach RMB3.95 trillion by 2030, with the combined area of Chengdu, Deyang, Meishan, and Ziyang aiming for RMB4.1 trillion. The resident population is expected to remain stable, while the urbanization rate of the resident population will continue to rise. Using 2025 as the base year, the metropolitan area's GDP is projected to increase by about RMB1 trillion over the next five years.
The Chengdu metropolitan area is the third state-level metropolitan area approved after Nanjing and Xi'an. The planning scope covers Chengdu city, and parts of Deyang (Jingyang District, Shifang, Guanghan, Zhongjiang), Meishan (Dongpo District, Pengshan, Renshou, Qingshen), and Ziyang (Yanjiang District, Lezhi), spanning 26,400 square kilometers. The planning area extends to the full administrative regions of Chengdu, Deyang, Meishan, and Ziyang, covering a total of 33,100 square kilometers.
Statistics show that in 2025, the Chengdu metropolitan area's GDP reached RMB3,131.03 billion, up 5.8% year on year, 0.3 percentage points higher than the provincial average, and accounting for 46.3% of the province's total economic output. Among the four cities, Chengdu recorded RMB2,476.36 billion, Deyang RMB338.71 billion, Meishan RMB200.87 billion, and Ziyang RMB115.08 billion. Compared with the 2020 base period, the metropolitan area's economic output grew by 40.1% in 2025. The resident population increased by more than 400,000 people from 2020, and the urbanization rate reached 74%, up 3.7 percentage points from 2020.
In rail transit, the Chengdu-Ziyang suburban railway (S3 line) carried an average of over 31,000 passengers per day in 2025, with annual ridership exceeding 10 million. After the Chengdu-Deyang S11 line and Chengdu-Meishan S5 line begin operation in 2027, the Chengdu metropolitan area will become the first in China to achieve full suburban railway coverage from the central city to sub-central cities. Cross-city population flows in the metropolitan area increased from 478,500 per day in 2020 to 704,700 per day in 2026, a rise of 47.3%.
The 11th meeting of the Sichuan Provincial Leading Group for Chengdu-Deyang-Meishan-Ziyang Integrated Development, held in April 2026, noted that 2026 marks the first year of the integrated development and metropolitan area construction entering an upgrade phase. The meeting called for coordinated implementation of the 15th Five-Year Plan, aligning with major provincial deployments, and forward-looking planning in infrastructure and industrial development.
On the industrial front, the plan proposes strengthening the core city to drive high-quality development, supporting Chengdu in enhancing its global competitive advantages in electronic information, aerospace, and biomedicine, and accelerating its development as a western economic center, a science and technology innovation center, an international exchange center, and a national advanced manufacturing base. Deyang is supported in strengthening its high-end energy equipment manufacturing cluster, Meishan in deepening its three industries each worth RMB100 billion in lithium batteries, photovoltaics, and chemical new materials, and Ziyang in cultivating emerging industries such as aerospace, digital intelligence, clean energy, and new materials. The plan also proposes building a tiered, high-capability industrial circle, with the metropolitan area jointly bidding for national major projects and productivity layouts, and co-building national-level advanced manufacturing clusters in electronic information and high-end energy equipment.