BEIJING- China will promote 160 major projects in the southwestern Chengdu-Chongqing "twin city" region with total investment of about 2 trillion yuan ($314.2 billion) next year, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday.

Chengdu and Chongqing, which are about 300 km (186.41 miles) apart, form one of four major city clusters in China. The region spans an area of 185,000 sq km and has a population of almost 120 million.

($1 = 6.3657 Chinese yuan renminbi)

(Reporting by Meg Shen, Ella Cao and Tom Daly Editing by David Goodman ) ((Ella.Cao@thomsonreuters.com;))