East China's Anhui province has benefited the most from the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta Region, according to the spokesman of the Anhui delegation to the ongoing 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.

Guo Qiang, a member of the Standing Committee of Anhui Provincial Party Committee, who is also director of the Publicity Department of the provincial committee and delegate to the congress, made the remarks during a press conference in Beijing on Tuesday night.

For a long time, the delta region referred merely to Shanghai city and Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, said Guo.

In the past decade, Anhui has been officially included in the national strategy for the region's integrated development, thanks to the cares and pushes from Xi Jinping, said Guo.

Guo pointed out that the province's GDP last year reached 4.3 trillion yuan ($596.84 billion).

Over the decade, Anhui has made breakthroughs from an agricultural region or an inland hinterland to build itself into an influential cradle of science and technology innovation, a hub of emerging industries, a highland of reform and opening-up, according to Guo.

The Chinese Government Transparency Index Report (2021) released by an institute affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in June shows Anhui ranked the third among provincial-level administrative regions, second only to Beijing and Shanghai.

Guo said science and technology innovation is a major strength that Anhui can significantly contribute to the integrated development of the delta region, as the province has achieved many science and technology innovation breakthroughs in the past decade.

Besides, Anhui got the approval of the central authorities in 2017 to build the Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center, one of four such centers in the country.