Why China is advancing integrated development of Yangtze River Delta

With just four percent of China's land area, the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), which includes Shanghai and its three neighboring provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui, accounts for around 17 percent of the country's population and nearly a quarter of its economic output. 

With insight into the great potential of the region's coordinated development, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the decision to make the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region a national strategy in November 2018.

"We will make it a national strategy and implement our new development philosophy in real earnest. We will build a modern economic system, and adopt higher standards for reform and opening up," Xi said while addressing the opening ceremony of the First China International Import Expo in Shanghai. 

Over the past few years, Xi has visited the YRD many times, presided over a series of relevant meetings, and provided key guidance at critical moments in the region's integration process.

Why the delta

In August 2020, President Xi led a symposium in Hefei, Anhui Province, to outline specific measures for advancing YRD's integration. It was the first such meeting since the strategy was elevated to a national priority. Xi emphasized the need for a deeper understanding of the delta's role in China's economic and social growth to better promote the region's coordinated development amid serious and complex challenges. 

This vision is becoming real in the economy.

The production of a single new energy vehicle highlights the benefits of integration: chips and software are sourced in Shanghai, batteries are from Changzhou in Jiangsu Province, and integrated die-casting machines are made in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province.

Within a four-hour drive, an automaker can access a complete supply chain, illustrating the modern industrial system fostered by regional cooperation.

In 2024, the YRD's combined GDP reached $4.65 trillion, ranking second worldwide among metro clusters, only behind the Boston–Washington corridor in the United States.

The region's foreign trade in 2024 also hit a record high, with total imports and exports accounting for 36.5 percent of the national total, proving its strong role in China's global trade. 

Innovation as the engine

Eying high-quality, sustainable, and long-term development, Xi has repeatedly emphasized innovation in the region's development plan.

Chairing a symposium on November 30, 2023, in Shanghai, he again highlighted the need to strengthen cross-region collaboration in sci-tech and industrial innovation.

The region is encouraged to become a source of sci-tech innovation by integrating innovative forces and resources across areas.

Recently, science and technology departments in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui have jointly established the YRD science and technology innovation community office.

In May, the region launched an action plan for the community, promising to sign a coordinated legislative framework for science and technology innovation, establish a joint fund, and roll out 29 collaborative research projects, including real-time millisecond-level intelligent 6G wireless technologies. 

By June, the YRD had established 26 national-level advanced manufacturing clusters, accounting for 32.5 percent of the national total and covering sectors such as large aircraft, biomedicine, new materials, and high-end equipment, further cementing its role as an industrial upgrade hub.

The region's R&D intensity, which measures R&D spending as a share of GDP, increased from 2.81 percent in 2018 to 3.34 percent in 2023. 

This focus on innovation has also earned international recognition, with Shanghai-Suzhou and Nanjing ranking fifth and ninth, respectively, in the 2024 Global Innovation Index's top 100 science and technology clusters.

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