National strategy takes shape, brings wide range of improvements

Three years ago, President Xi Jinping announced that China would support integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region, making this a national strategy, and he instructed that the new development philosophy should be implemented in earnest.

"We will build a modern economic system, and adopt higher standards for reform and opening-up," Xi said in his keynote speech at the inaugural China International Import Expo in Shanghai on Nov 5, 2018.

Since then, coordinated development has gradually taken shape in the delta, with roads that used to end at provincial borders being connected and new bridges built on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

Coordinated policies have been introduced to ease talent mobility and business in the region, and guidelines unifying standards in construction and environmental protection have been brought in.

Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the region, which comprises Shanghai and Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, remains the nation's economic powerhouse.

Hua Yuan, director of the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission and also head of the Yangtze River Delta Regional Cooperation Office, said at a news conference on Oct 25 that the region's GDP accounted for 24.5 percent of the national total in the first half of this year.

"The region has contributed more to the country's economic growth, as the proportion has risen by 0.4 percentage point when compared with that in 2018," he said.

"With all the cities and provinces making concerted efforts, the delta region has reached new heights on integration and high-quality development."