Think tank report: China's vast hinterland is emerging, Chengdu may become "the first city in the country in terms of population"

Recently, the Pangu think tank's New Age of Discovery public welfare research group released a report stating that in recent years, the location and infrastructure advantages have helped propel the "Chinese Hinterland" to the forefront. It is recommended to elevate the construction of the Chinese Hinterland to a national strategic level, and to clearly define its functional positioning and development path through the "Fifteenth Five-Year Plan". A well-developed transportation network is driving the aggregation of population factors, and there is a noticeable trend of population returning westward. By 2024, the permanent population of Chengdu will be 21.474 million, an increase of 71,000 people from the end of 2023. There is a net inflow of nearly 300,000 people in Sichuan and Chongqing each year, with a high influx rate of young people. By 2024, Guiyang's permanent population will increase by 199,600 people, ranking first in the country. This shifting population pattern has reshaped the regional population distribution and provided sustained development momentum for the central and western city clusters. The report suggests that "in the future, as urbanization deepens and population redistribution within metropolitan areas intensifies, this trend will be further reinforced, and Chengdu may become the largest city in terms of population in the country."