Editor's note: Song Xueyin is the deputy director of the Future Regional Development Laboratory, Zhejiang University. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily the views of CGTN. It has been translated from Chinese and edited for brevity and clarity.
This year marks the seventh year since the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta became a national strategy. Since its elevation to a national strategy in 2018, the top-level planning for integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta has continued to deepen, with Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui pursuing innovative solutions to "remove administrative barriers without redrawing administrative jurisdictions," translating the blueprint for high-quality development into real-life progress. By the first half of 2025, the Yangtze River Delta region contributed 24.8 percent of China's total economic output, continuing to create miracles in regional integration.
Driving powerful regional partnerships and cross-sector collaboration
Breakthroughs have been made in the cross-regional industrial division of labor and the construction of world-class emerging production networks. Integration does not mean uniformity, nor does it preclude competition. Rather, it means a landscape where cities identify their strategic roles and industrial specializations through powerful partnerships and cross-sector collaboration, all built upon full and compliant competition among tens of millions of market players. In 2024, the Yangtze River Delta accelerated the development of a world-class hub of advanced industrial clusters with distinct divisions of labor and strong partnerships. Specifically, the region's integrated circuit industry accounted for 60 percent of the national total, artificial intelligence for about one-third, and new-energy vehicle production for roughly 40 percent. Shanghai is prioritizing integrated circuits and new-energy vehicles; Nanjing has developed characteristic industries of software and information services; Hangzhou is distinguished by cloud computing, large models, video security, and more; and Wuxi is rapidly rising in fields such as the Internet of Things and aircraft engines.
Strengthening cross-regional policy design for shared science and technology resources
A closer cross-regional innovation community has been built. In recent years, the three provinces and one municipality in the delta region have promoted cross-regional scientific and technological policy design and the sharing of science and technology resources. Through these efforts, they have launched joint innovation experiments, nurtured an ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship, reduced regional innovation costs, and achieved systemic results in developing new, high-quality productive forces. The innovation vouchers introduced in the Yangtze River Delta are now valid across the three provinces and one municipality, effectively broadening the pool of high-potential innovative enterprises and ensuring that effective innovation funds are genuinely channeled to the most efficient enterprises. Large-scale scientific instruments are now shared across provinces, reducing redundant investments caused by administrative divisions. These policies and institutional designs facilitate the wider flow, recombination, and allocation of scientific research resources, igniting powerful dynamism for innovation and competition.
Enhancing public services and promoting greater labor mobility across the delta region
Cross-regional services have been coordinated for higher standards of public well-being. Enhancing people's well-being is the ultimate goal of high-quality integration in the Yangtze River Delta. Through integrated development, public resources are utilized to the fullest, and gaps in people's livelihoods are filled. By 2024, in terms of public services, 203 government service items had been made available for unified online processing across the Yangtze River Delta. Meanwhile, a total of 78 resident services can now be accessed across the delta region through the social security card, enabling "one-card access". This number is expected to exceed 113 by 2025. For example, in one of the most pressing areas of public concern—seeking cross-provincial medical treatment, 10 types of chronic and special outpatient illnesses will be eligible for direct settlement this year, covering all cities with subordinate districts. The high-quality integrated development of public services has a dual effect. It not only enhances people's well-being and advances common prosperity but also promotes greater labor mobility and freedom of choice, thereby driving the improvement in government service efficiency.
京公网安备 11010202009201号