Number of “Trillion-Yuan Cities” in the Yangtze River Delta Region Increases to 9, Accounting for Over One-Third of the National Total

On December 4th, a press conference titled “Promoting High-Quality Development” was held. Gu Jun, Director of the Yangtze River Delta Regional Cooperation Office, Deputy Secretary-General of the Shanghai Municipal Government, and Director of the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission, introduced the progress made by the three provinces and one city in implementing the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech at the Symposium on Deepening the Integrated Development of the Yangtze River Delta held on November 30, 2023.

Over the past year, the three provinces and one city have deeply studied and understood the strategic thinking, rich connotations, and significant meaning of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech. They have formulated and implemented the third round of the Three-Year Action Plan for the Integrated Development of the Yangtze River Delta Region, jointly promoted 18 key cooperation items in the Yangtze River Delta, and accelerated the implementation of 10 practical projects for integrated development.

In terms of total economic output, the three provinces and one city in the Yangtze River Delta have seen their economic aggregate increase from 23.9% of the national total in 2018 to 24.4% in 2023, with a growth rate of 5.4% in the first three quarters of this year, 0.6 percentage points higher than the national average. The number of “trillion-yuan cities” in the Yangtze River Delta has increased from 6 in 2018 to 9, accounting for more than one-third of the national total. In terms of quality, the intensity of R&D expenditure in the Yangtze River Delta has risen from 2.81% in 2018 to 3.34% in 2023. In the 2024 Global Innovation Index (GII) ranking of the top 100 technological clusters globally, the Shanghai-Suzhou cluster ranks fifth, and the Nanjing cluster ranks ninth, entering the top ten for the first time. These achievements reflect the resilience, vitality, and responsibility of the Yangtze River Delta region as a “growth pole, power source, and experimental field.”

Firstly, focusing on cultivating and developing new productive forces, strengthening cross-regional collaboration in technological and industrial innovation. The capacity for technological innovation origination has been continuously enhanced. Efforts have been made to deepen the “two hearts, one innovation” approach with the Zhangjiang and Hefei Comprehensive National Science Centers, and to accelerate the joint research plan of the Yangtze River Delta Science and Technology Innovation Community. The third batch of 41 demand task lists has been released externally, and the first batch of 12 Yangtze River Delta Innovation Consortia have been established. The open sharing of scientific and technological resources has been accelerated. The Yangtze River Delta Science and Technology Resource Sharing Service Platform has aggregated 46,441 large-scale scientific instruments, and the Yangtze River Delta Science and Technology Innovation Voucher has supported enterprises in purchasing innovation services over 7,000 times, with support amounting to over 170 million yuan. Technological and industrial innovation have accelerated integration. A joint new energy vehicle industry chain system has been established in the Yangtze River Delta, and joint efforts have been made to promote the development of the Internet of Vehicles and intelligent and connected vehicles. Currently, 4 out of every 10 new energy vehicles produced in China come from the Yangtze River Delta region.

Secondly, focusing on the institutional guarantee for integrated development, and accelerating the improvement of the integrated development mechanism. The convenient and shared public services have been promoted in an orderly manner. Over 170 high-frequency government services and applications have achieved cross-provincial “one-network, one-stop” services. This year, innovative initiatives such as the “one-stop” service for newborn births in the Yangtze River Delta and the “automatic enjoyment” of subsidies for financially disadvantaged students studying across provinces have been introduced. The Yangtze River Delta has taken the lead in piloting direct settlement of outpatient medical expenses for cross-provincial medical treatment nationwide, with over 46 million people benefiting and reducing public out-of-pocket expenses by over 7 billion yuan by the end of October this year. The level of infrastructure interconnectivity has continued to improve. The “super ring” high-speed rail in the Yangtze River Delta has been opened, with the operating mileage of high-speed rail in the region exceeding 7,600 kilometers, an increase of over 80% from 4,150 kilometers in 2018. The 163-kilometer Shanghai-Suzhou-Huzhou high-speed rail will be ready for operation by the end of the year, reducing the travel time from Shanghai to Huzhou from about 2 hours to around 40 minutes. The airport connection line between Hongqiao International Airport and Pudong International Airport will also be operational this year, with a total length of 68.6 kilometers and a fastest connection time of 40 minutes between the two airports, significantly shortening the travel time between cities in the Yangtze River Delta. The construction of a “one-network” for new energy vehicle charging and swapping infrastructure has been accelerated, with over 120,000 public charging stations built annually and a vehicle-to-charger ratio of 1.55, achieving the annual target of below 1.9 ahead of schedule. The construction of the Yangtze River Delta Ecological Green Integrated Development Demonstration Zone has been deepened. This year, 18 institutional innovation achievements have been introduced, and the “Regulations on the High-Quality Development of the Demonstration Zone” were officially implemented on May 1, becoming the first comprehensive, cross-provincial, and innovative legislative project in China since the revision of the “Legislation Law.” The Huawei R&D Center has been completed and put into use, and the construction of the Xicen Science and Innovation Center, Water Town Living Room, and Shanghai-Suzhou-Jiaxing Intercity Railway has been accelerated.

Thirdly, focusing on building a strategic hub for dual circulation and actively promoting high-level collaborative openness. High-level open platforms have been accelerated. The comprehensive reform pilot in Pudong New Area has been accelerated, with the release of the country’s first batch of general data lists for cross-border data scenarios. The strategy to upgrade the Free Trade Pilot Zone has been deepened, and the construction of the Oriental Hub International Business Cooperation Zone has been initiated. The Three-Year Action Plan (2024-2026) for the Construction of the Hongqiao International Open Hub has been issued and implemented. The seventh China International Import Expo achieved a cumulative intentional transaction volume of 80 billion USD, an increase of 2% over the previous edition. The Yangtze River Delta High-Quality Development Promotion Association for the “Belt and Road” Initiative has been established. Positive progress has been made in the integrated development of regional markets. Joint efforts have been made to release and implement key work measures to promote the integrated development of regional markets in the near term, promote the improvement of regional logistics efficiency and cost reduction, and introduce over 30 specific measures. The first regional local standard for food safety information traceability in China has been released and implemented, and a total of 27 regional local standards have been jointly released.

Fourthly, focusing on jointly building a green and beautiful Yangtze River Delta, and strengthening joint protection and governance of the ecological environment. Joint efforts have been made to protect important ecological spaces and ecosystems. The three provinces and one city have jointly formulated the “Regional Greenway Connection Standards,” the first cross-provincial standard for greenway construction in China, and collaboratively promoted the construction of ecological corridors along the Yangtze River water system. It is expected that the provincial connection of ecological corridors along the main stream of the Yangtze River in the Yangtze River Delta will be initially achieved by 2025. Efforts to prevent and control pollution have been continuously pushed forward. From January to October this year, the average proportion of good air quality days in the Yangtze River Delta reached 83.3%, an increase of 8.2 percentage points compared to the same period in 2018, and the average PM2.5 concentration was 30 micrograms per cubic meter, a significant reduction from 42 micrograms per cubic meter in the same period in 2018. Exploration has been conducted on joint responses to regional ozone pollution, and joint efforts have been made to address pollution in the nearshore waters of the Yangtze River Estuary and Hangzhou Bay. Joint river and lake chiefs have been fully implemented for key cross-border water bodies such as the “one river and three lakes” in the integrated demonstration zone, and a “whitelist” system for the utilization and disposal of solid and hazardous waste has been implemented. Efforts have been made to enhance the momentum for green and low-carbon development. Pilot projects for cross-regional emissions trading have been carried out in Qingpu, Shanghai, Wujiang, Jiangsu, Jiashan, Zhejiang, and Guangde, Anhui. The national carbon trading market has been operating smoothly, with a cumulative trading volume of carbon emission quotas exceeding 494 million tons and a cumulative transaction value exceeding 29.7 billion yuan by the end of October.

Fifthly, focusing on building a risk prevention and control system, and enhancing the capacity for safe development. Collaborative reforms and innovations in the financial sector have been accelerated. Efforts have been made to jointly promote the pilot projects for science and technology innovation and financial reforms in Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Hefei, and Jiaxing. The Yangtze River Delta Collaborative Advantage Industrial Fund has invested in 47 sub-funds and 52 direct investment projects in