The YRD Integration Index records fastest growth in 3 years
Despite the troubling COVID-19, the Yangtze River Delta region has accomplished a faster integration growth in 2022.
The YRD Integration Index 2022, which was published on the sidelines of the China International Import Expo, surged to 192.56 points from 178.9 points a year ago, marking a compound growth rate of 6.49 percent, the fastest in the last three years.
The index, created by the China Academy of Urban Planning Design and the Xinhua news agency, was made public for the second time to serve as a standard measurement of YRD integration after President Xi Jinping announced the national strategy for further regional integration at the first CIIE in 2018.
"The YRD region has quickly grown into a top economic cluster in the world, and it demonstrates a strong potential of developing in a coordinated manner," said Sun Juan, the CAUPD's head.
According to data, the YRD region's economic activity accounted for 24.1 percent of China's GDP in 2021, with industrial output accounting for 25.6 percent of the total.
The nightlight index compares the intensity and range of nightlight in the YRD region.
One highlight of this year's research is the nightlight index, which compares the intensity and range of nightlight in the region. It shows an apparent expansion of nightlight and increased connectivity between dots of light in the region over the last six years.
Other sub-indices showed growth in all barometers, including industrial integration, hardware facility connection, ecological protection, and public services, with the connection of hardware facilities enjoying the quickest growth.
By the end of 2021, there was 6,542 kilometers of high-speed railways in the region, making it the busiest train hub in the country.
The YRD region has also improved the environment through measures to control air and water pollution, witnessed better health-care and educational services than the national average, and had easier access to change hospitals or schools within the territory.
The COVID-19 pandemic dampened people's desire to travel but had a minimal effect on regional economic integration.
