The 2021 Chengdu New Economy Sharing Conference was held on Tuesday at the Wuliangye Chengdu Financial City Performing Arts Center in Chengdu, the capital of southwest China's Sichuan province. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]

A conference to promote the new economy, that is, modern, high-growth industries that are on the cutting edge of technology, was held on Tuesday in Chengdu, the capital of southwest China's Sichuan province.

The 2021 Chengdu New Economy Sharing Conference showcased the achievements and prospects of the city's high-quality development in the new era, particularly with regard to its new economy, and served to build a bridge for exploring innovative cooperation and mutually beneficial development in the city.

The live-streamed event was held at the Wuliangye Chengdu Financial City Performing Arts Center as well as across 150 other sub-venues at home and around the world. The event attracted guests from renowned universities, industry associations, established firms, and investment institutions from 19 countries and regions, including the United States, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, and Thailand.

Attendees gathered to shed light on Chengdu's path forward in the new economy and share their view about the city's prospects.

A holographic "Nezha" acted as the virtual host of the 2021 Chengdu New Economy Sharing Conference, held on Tuesday in Chengdu, the capital of southwest China's Sichuan province. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]

"Five years ago, ByteDance's Sichuan branch was established in Chengdu. From a team of 20 people, we have grown to a leading internet technology company with a total of more than 6,000 employees," Vice President of ByteDance Zhang Yu said.

As a participant and witness of the development of Chengdu's new economy, Zhang said that ByteDance regards Chengdu as a pivotal city for investment in China's western region. As such, the company will pour about 10 billion yuan into the city to build an innovative business center for emerging businesses such as AI education and interactive multimedia office systems.

Ren Bin, founder and president of Chengdu Zongheng Automation Technology Co. Ltd., which manufactures and distributes unmanned aerial vehicle products, said that his company's business has expanded thanks to Chengdu's new economic development over the past ten years.

In addition, local officials in Chengdu, guests, the virtual host of the event "Nezha," and the mascot for the Chengdu 2021 Summer Universiade Rong Bao introduced the city's new economic development and investment opportunities to the world.

As of 2020, the number of new economy firms in Chengdu stood at 433,000, up 18.3% year on year. Seven companies have reached unicorn status and 159 companies quasi-unicorn status. In terms of the fraction of the population that is choosing new professions, Chengdu ranks third across the country.