Shanghai playing pivotal role in driving delta integration
The Yangtze River Delta integration continues to gain momentum, with its GDP achieving 7.4 trillion yuan (US$1.06 trillion) during the first quarter, accounting for a quarter of the national GDP for the same period, according to Wei Lu, chief economist for Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission.
Wei Lu, chief economist for Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission.
The delta region – Jiangsu, Anhui and Zhejiang provinces and the Shanghai municipality – has become the economic powerhouse for the country, given its unrivaled natural endowment, its well developed economic infrastructure, and its pool of talent.
Wei deliberated on the progress of the integration as part of the city's high quality development at a briefing attended by media outlets from across the country.
This integration can be characterized along several dimensions, according to Wei.
The delta region is building a shared community in terms of technology and innovation as represented by a number of state labs, state key labs, and pivotal technological infrastructure.
As the region remains committed to high level opening up, the Hongqiao area, given its adjacency to Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, is emerging as an international opening up hub, with spillover effects from the China International Imports Expo continuing to be amplified.
In terms of transport, the region is also become more interconnected with the launch of several new bullet trains and waterways.
For example, the Zhejiang section of the Grand Canal linking up Beijing and Hangzhou is now open to shipping on a trial basis.
Shanghai is playing a pivotal role in enhancing the integration as the city continues to hone its muscle as five centers: international economic center, international financial center, international trade center, international shipping center, and international center for technology and innovation.
Last year, the city, building on its leading position, achieved a regional GDP of 4.72 trillion yuan, a growth of 5 percent compared with the previous year. Significantly, the industrial value in IC, biopharmaceuticals and AI was worth 1.6 trillion yuan.
During the briefing several officials and researchers from government departments in charge of science and technology, finance, transportation, and the smart economy also provided backgrounders on fields under their watch.
With new quality productive forces set to create new impetus for the country's development on the strength of China's stress on technological innovation, it is believed that the new strategic forces, when unleashed, will catalyze new sectors, and new forms of production and organization, creating new increments and growth non-existent before.
The weeklong in-depth media investigation and interviews will report and publicize the city's edge in these fields.
