How China's Yangtze River Delta integration fuels high-quality growth

What can 20 minutes, 12 minutes and one millisecond make possible? In 20 minutes, a low-altitude flight can take passengers from Taicang in east China's Jiangsu Province to Shanghai's Pudong district, roughly 70 kilometers away by road.

In just 12 minutes, an industrial robot can roll off a production line.

And one millisecond is all it takes for data to travel across a computing network.

The figures offer a glimpse into a region where closer integration is turning geographical proximity into economic and technological strength.

The Yangtze River Delta (YRD), located along China's east coast around the lower reaches and estuary of the Yangtze River, is one of the country's most vibrant, open and innovative city clusters.

Comprising Shanghai Municipality and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, the region is home to about 17% of China's population while covering just 4% of the country's land area.

In the first quarter of this year, its combined GDP approached 8.5 trillion yuan ($1.26 trillion), accounting for more than one-fourth of the national total.

Recognizing the enormous potential of coordinated regional development, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the decision to make the integrated development of the YRD 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.

Guided by the strategy, the region has reaped major benefits and matured into a pacesetter of high-quality development from its integrated development.

Integration coordinates regional strengths In August 2020, President Xi led a symposium in Hefei, Anhui Province, to outline specific measures for advancing the 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 and better promote the region's coordinated development amid serious and complex challenges.