The process for how Sichuan identifies headquarters enterprises involves legal entity enterprises that are registered in Sichuan, fulfill functions such as tax payment, statistical reporting, and settlement, engage in cross-provincial operations through investment or authorized management, have reached a relatively large scale of development, undertake headquarters functions, possess industry influence, and make fiscal contributions. Additionally, enterprises applying for recognition must meet basic conditions including conducting substantive operations, operating across regions or borders, and engaging in lawful and compliant management.
Recently, the Sichuan Provincial Development and Reform Commission and five other departments jointly released the 2025 list of recognized headquarters enterprises in Sichuan Province, which includes 31 companies, with 22 of them located in Chengdu.
In fact, this is not the first time Chengdu has held a dominant position in the headquarters enterprise list. Since Sichuan initiated the application and recognition process for headquarters enterprises in 2024, a total of 128 enterprises have been recognized across two batches for the entire province; Chengdu accounts for 89 of these, representing nearly 70 percent of the total.
What exactly constitutes a headquarters enterprise? And what is the real significance behind this title?
The pleasant surprises extend beyond just the quantity, with 12 classified as comprehensive-type, 5 as functional-type, and 5 as growth-type headquarters, indicating a more balanced regional distribution as well.
Based on the development scale, actual control rights, and functions undertaken by the enterprise or its branches, Sichuan categorizes headquarters enterprises into three types: comprehensive headquarters, functional headquarters, and growth headquarters. Among the 22 provincial headquarters enterprises recognized in Chengdu this time, 12 are comprehensive-type, 5 are functional-type, and 5 are growth-type headquarters.
"The pleasant surprise isn't just the large number, but also the more balanced regional distribution," explained a relevant official from the Chengdu Municipal Development and Reform Commission. The inclusion of Kangtai Plastic Technology Co., Ltd. as a comprehensive headquarters enterprise and Chengdu Yingnuo Industrial Co., Ltd. as a functional headquarters enterprise marks a "zero breakthrough" for Chongzhou in this field. Furthermore, enterprises from Wenjiang and Longquanyi districts have also been included.
The recognition of headquarters enterprises is the result of the combined effect of various factors, including a region's industrial development.
For example, Sichuan Baili Tianheng Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., recognized this time as a comprehensive headquarters enterprise, is headquartered in Wenjiang. In 2025, its independently developed HER2 antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) T-Bren (BL-M07D1) was included by the Center for Drug Evaluation (CDE) of the National Medical Products Administration in the list of breakthrough therapy varieties, and it completed the largest milestone payment disclosed to date for a single ADC asset in outbound licensing deals for domestic innovative drugs. The company's current market capitalization has exceeded 100 billion yuan, driving Wenjiang's remarkable emergence in the biopharmaceutical sector.
The clustering of these enterprises is underpinned by robust support, characterized by a responsive yet unobtrusive approach that creates a favorable business environment for companies.
"Business entities that successfully qualify as headquarters enterprises have not only substantively located their headquarters in Sichuan but also possess a certain level of strength," in the view of a relevant official from the Provincial Development and Reform Commission. Headquarters enterprises are considered an important indicator for observing a region's market vitality, business environment, and industrial development.
Chengdu's focus on developing its headquarters economy is not new, but in recent years, the pace and frequency of high-caliber enterprises establishing their headquarters there have noticeably accelerated. Observers believe that Chengdu's appeal as a favored city for headquarters enterprises stems first and foremost from its excellent business environment.
In the "2024-2025 Urban Business Environment Innovation Report" released last October, Chengdu was awarded the title of "Annual Innovative City." This accolade is supported by a business environment ethos of "responsive to needs, unobtrusive when not needed."
Many corporate executives mentioned that in recent years, companies have genuinely experienced a systematic upgrade in Chengdu's service model. Particularly notable is the shift in philosophy from "passive response" to "active anticipation," the evolution in role from "enterprise needs, we respond" to becoming a "resource hub," and the advancement in systems from "solving individual problems" to providing "systematic support."
In September 2024, Chengdu launched the "Entering Ten Thousand Enterprises, Solving Problems, Optimizing the Environment, Promoting Development" initiative. This was later followed by an upgraded version of the initiative, exploring mechanisms like "daily bureau chief duty" and "weekly industry chain leader receptions" to listen to opinions face-to-face and solve problems substantively. As of now, through this initiative, Chengdu has cumulatively visited over 150,000 local enterprises and resolved more than 42,400 problems. By the end of 2024, the Chengdu Private Economy Development Promotion Center was officially inaugurated, and holding weekly sessions to hear enterprise appeals has become routine.
The best barometer for the quality of a business environment is corporate behavior. As of September 2025, the value-added of Chengdu's private economy reached 920.97 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 6.4%, with a total of 4.0541 million business entities, ranking third among sub-provincial cities nationwide.
The concentration of headquarters enterprises brings about qualitative changes, leading to a more complete industrial chain and a higher industrial tier.
What will the large number of headquarters enterprises bring to Chengdu? The answer is a more complete industrial chain and a higher industrial tier.
Data shows that in 2025 alone, Chengdu welcomed the establishment of Fosun Pharma's nuclear medicine headquarters, Zhixun Innovation's national second headquarters, YUSUR's southwestern headquarters, and Huayun Zhiyuan's national headquarters for its mining large model. Once these projects are completed and operational, the number of recognized headquarters enterprises in Chengdu will increase further.
The significance of their arrival lies not just in the "headquarters" title, but more importantly, in the qualitative transformation of industrial chains.
For instance, the plan for Fosun Pharma's nuclear medicine headquarters is to collaborate with Chengdu Biomedical City to build a "globally leading nuclear medicine production base." Currently, Fosun Pharma and Chengdu Biomedical City have jointly established a special fund, aiming to incubate a broader nuclear medicine innovation ecosystem through a "capital + industry" model. Following the arrival of Zhixun Innovation, it quickly "assembled" with local Chengdu companies involved in design, testing, and equipment services, collectively weaving a tighter industrial ecosystem network, pushing Chengdu's integrated circuit sector closer to the goal of "having leading players on the chain and no weak links in the process."
In the view of analysts, the密集落户 of these enterprise headquarters and projects focused on core functions signifies that Chengdu's industrial attractiveness has reached a new stage. What they bring is not only growth in economic aggregate but will also promote a more complete industrial chain puzzle for Chengdu, further enhance its "high-precision, advanced" content, and lead to a more robust modern industrial system. In other words, the arrival of these headquarters enterprises, these "seed players," is accelerating the "filling of gaps, strengthening weaknesses, and achieving domestic autonomy" in Chengdu's key industrial chains, injecting a continuous stream of vitality into the high-quality development of this megacity.
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