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 themed “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 Municipal 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 one year after the symposium on deepening the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta was held.

On November 30th, 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over a symposium in Shanghai to discuss the in-depth promotion of the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta and delivered an important speech. Over the past year, the three provinces and one city have thoroughly 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 economic aggregate of the three provinces and one city in the Yangtze River Delta has increased 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 scientific and 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 regional economy as a “growth pole, power source, and experimental field.”

Firstly, efforts are focused on cultivating and developing new productive forces, strengthening cross-regional collaboration in technological and industrial innovation. The capacity for technological innovation origination continues to be enhanced. Collaboration between the Zhangjiang and Hefei Comprehensive National Science Centers is being deepened, and the joint research plan for the Yangtze River Delta Science and Technology Innovation Community is being accelerated. The third batch of 41 demand task lists has been released, and the first 12 Yangtze River Delta Innovation Consortia have been established. The open sharing of scientific and technological resources is accelerating. 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 innovation and industrial innovation are accelerating integration. A joint new energy vehicle industry chain system in the Yangtze River Delta has been established to jointly 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, focus is placed on the institutional guarantee for integrated development to accelerate the improvement of the integrated development mechanism. The convenient sharing of public services is being promoted in an orderly manner. Over 170 high-frequency government services and applications have achieved cross-provincial “one-network, one-stop” processing. This year, innovative measures 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 interconnection and interoperability continues 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, shortening 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 only 40 minutes between the two airports, significantly reducing the travel time between cities in the Yangtze River Delta. The construction of a “one-network” for new energy vehicle charging and swapping infrastructure is accelerating, with over 120,000 public charging stations built this year, achieving a vehicle-to-charger ratio of 1.55 and surpassing the annual target of below 1.9. The construction of the demonstration zone for ecological and green integrated development in the Yangtze River Delta is being deepened. This year, 18 institutional innovation achievements have been introduced, and the “Regulations on High-Quality Development of the Demonstration Zone” were officially implemented on May 1st, becoming the first comprehensive, cross-provincial, and creative 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 is being accelerated.

Thirdly, focus is on building a strategic hub for dual circulation and actively promoting high-level collaborative openness. High-level open platforms are being accelerated. The comprehensive reform pilot in Pudong New Area is being 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 Zone is being deeply implemented, and the construction of the International Business Cooperation Zone in the Oriental Hub 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 intention to trade of 80 billion USD, an increase of 2% compared to 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 the regional market. Joint efforts have been made to release and implement key work measures to promote the integrated development of the regional market in the near term, improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of regional logistics through collaborative efforts and over 30 specific measures, and release and implement the country’s first regional standard for food safety information traceability, with a total of 27 regional standards jointly released.

Fourthly, focus is on jointly building a green and beautiful Yangtze River Delta and strengthening joint environmental protection and governance. Collaborative efforts are made to protect important ecological spaces and ecosystems. The three provinces and one city have jointly formulated the country’s first cross-provincial standard for greenway construction, the “Regional Greenway Connection Standard,” and are collaboratively promoting 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 are continuously being advanced. 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. The average concentration of PM2.5 was 30 micrograms per cubic meter, a significant reduction from 42 micrograms per cubic meter in the same period in 2018. Exploration is underway for joint responses to regional ozone pollution, and joint efforts are being 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 are being made to enhance the momentum for green and low-carbon development. Pilot projects for cross-regional emissions trading have been launched in Qingpu, Shanghai, Wujiang, Jiangsu, Jiashan, Zhejiang, and Guangde, Anhui. The national carbon trading market is 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, focus is on building a risk prevention and control system to enhance safe development capabilities. Collaborative reforms and innovations in the financial sector are being accelerated. Collaborative efforts are being made to promote pilot projects for scientific and technological innovation finance reforms in Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Hefei, and Jiaxing. The Yangtze River Delta Collaborative Advantage Industrial Fund has invested in