INhisApril26speechinWuhan,capitalofcentralChina鈥檚HubeiProvince,PresidentXiJinpingelaboratedonthenationalstrategyofdevelopingtheYangtzeRiverEconomicBeltaspartoftheeffortstoachievenationalrejuvenation.
Xianalyzedtheproblemsandchallengesnowfacingthedevelopmentofthisarea.Hestressedthatitmustavoidover-exploitation,developinawellprotectedenvironment,andnevercrosstheecologicalredline.ProblemsandBottlenecks
TheYangtzeRiverEconomicBeltisatypicalbasineconomythatinvolveswater,roads,ports,banks,industries,cities,biology,wetlands,andtheenvironment,etc.ItspopulationandGDPbothaccountfor40percentofthecountry鈥檚total.TheBeltpassesthrough11provincesandmunicipalities,linkingChina鈥檚north,south,west,andeast.
Therearehundredsofbig,medium-sized,andsmallcitiesalongtheBelt.Earlyinthe1990s,theylaunchedtheirrespectivedevelopmentplans.Thougheconomiccooperationzonesandcitycircleswereestablishedincertainareas,enthusiasmforintegrativedevelopmentinabroaderareawasnothigh,which,tosomeextentresultedinhomogenizedandfragmentedindustries.
Inrecentyears,theYangtzeRiverEconomicBelthasbeenover-burdenedwithshipping,hydraulicengineering,mining,andelectricitygenerationamongotherfunctions.Industrialparksandheavychemicalindustrieshavebeenbuilt,andhazardouschemicalsareshipped,bothofwhichposehiddendangerstothearea.Theseproblemsarecloselylinkedwithpublicsafety,economicdevelopment,andsocialsecurity,andcallforachangeinthecurrentdisjointedmanagementmodeoftheBelt.Besides,there鈥檚stillgreatpotentialintheYangtzeRiverwithlessthan20percentofitbeingtappedinto.
TheYangtzeRiverDeltapoolslotsoftalents,universities,andresearchinstitutions,whichgiveitatechnology-andknowledge-intensiveeconomy.Itsnextstepistoprioritizetheserviceeconomy.Theothertwocross-regionalcitygroups(middlereachesoftheYangtzeRiver,andChengduChongqing),andtworegionalcitygroups(centralGuizhouandYunnan)lagbehindinsecondaryandtertiaryindustries.IntheupperreachesoftheYangtzeRiver,industrializationandurbanizationremainthefocus.ThisregionalimbalanceisanobstacletotherealizationofgreendevelopmentalongtheBelt.
SustainableDevelopmentIstheGoal
Atthe2014CentralEconomicWorkingConference,theconstructionoftheYangtzeRiverEconomicBeltwaselevatedtoanationalstrategy.Sincethen,theBeltembarkedonthepathofcoordinatingecologicalprotectionwiththegoalofgreenandsustainabledevelopment.
Notableresultshavebeenachievedinecologicalprotectionandrestoration.Waterqualityin22keysectionsalongtheYangtzeRivermainstreamallmeetorexceedthethirdgrade.ThePM2.5andPM10concentrationineightprovincesandcitiesalongtheriverdropped.Majorpollutantsinsixprovincialcapitalcitieswerereducedbytwopercentyear-on-year.Thegreendevelopmentindex(GDI)in11provincesandcitiesin2016averaged80.4.Theareaalsotakestheleadnationwideinsevenrealmsincludingresourceutilizationandenvironmentalmanagement.Theannualrankingsinecologicaldevelopmentofsevenprovincesandcitiesmadeittothetop10nationwide.
China鈥檚capabilityofindependentinnovationisimprovingcontinuously.Whileplanningthelayoutofanationalcenterformanufacturinginnovation,thecountryhasalsospedupitsstepstobuildtheShanghaiZhangjiangComprehensiveNationalScienceCenter,HefeiComprehensiveNationalScienceCenter,andnationallaboratoriesformarineengineeringandairpollutionmonitoring.
CitiesalongtheYangtzeRiverhavecarriedoutpoliciesonebyonetosupportthedevelopmentofintelligentindustries.InShanghai,intelligentmanufacturingprojectshavebeeninitiated;inWuhan,aCityofRobotsisbeingforgedwiththekeyinindustrialrobots;inHefei,aChineseSpeechValleyco-builtbytheMinistryofIndustryandInformationTechnology(MIIT)andtheAnhuiprovincialgovernmentwillserveasafootholdforthedevelopmentoftheintelligentindustry.
In2015,theproportionofthetertiaryindustryexceededthatofthesecondaryoneforthefirsttimeintheregion,abigchangeinindustrialstructure.In2016,theratiosofthethreeindustrieswere8.10:42.88:49.02,adecreaseofonepercentinprimaryindustry,of6.2percentinsecondaryindustryandanincreaseof7.2percentinthetertiaryonecomparedwith2012.
TherapiddevelopmentoftheemergingindustrygivessupporttothedevelopmentoftheBelt.Specifically,next-generationinformationtechnologiessuchasintegratedcircuits,paneldisplays,InternetofThings,Cloudcomputing,AI,andbigdatahavegatheredmomentuminChongqing,Wuhan,Hefei,Nanjing,andShanghai.WuhanOpticsValleyexcelsinphotoelectronics.
TheYangtzeRiverEconomicBeltisthemainbattlefieldforachievinganewtypeofurbanization.Itismovingforwardrapidlywithpersistenceingreendevelopment,steadyincreaseineconomicaggregate,rapidper-capitaGDPgrowth,andstronglocalfinance.Bytheendof2016,theurbanizationlevelsinShanghai(87.9percent),Jiangsu(67.7percent),Zhejiang(67.0percent),Chongqing(62.6percent),andHubei(58.1percent)werehigherthanthenationalaverage(57.4percent).
InJanuary2016,aninter-provincialconsultationandcooperationmechanismcoveringthewholeriverbasinwasinitiated,andabasicframeworkofmultilevelinter-provincialcoordinationcameintobeing.TheMinistryofEcologyandEnvironmentconductsatargetedinspectionofthewatersourcesoftheYangtzeRiverEconomicBelt.High-QualityDevelopment
UndertheguidanceofXi鈥檚Wuhanspeech,theYangtzeRiverEconomicBeltstickstotheprincipleofprioritizingecologicalprotectionandgreendevelopment.Throughcoordinatedandbalanceddevelopment,itaimstoimprovethequalityofeconomicdevelopment,increasingitsefficiencyandtransforminggrowthdriverstobuilditselfintoazonewithgoodecology,streamlinedtransportation,acoordinatedeconomy,aunifiedmarket,andsoundinstitutions.
First,balancedandcoordinateddevelopmentpromotesenvironmentalprotection.Measurestobeundertakenare:promotinggreendevelopmentoftheYangtzeRiverEconomicZoneinacoordinatedandbalancedway,andprotectingitsecologicalenvironment.Strengtheningjointpreventionandcontrolofpollutionandcomprehensivemanagementoftheenvironment,promotingwaterpollutiontreatment,repairoftheaquaticecology,andprotectionofaquaticresourcesareallareasthatarebeingworkedon.Introducinganegativelistandimplementingthemoststrictregulationsandlawstoestablishaharmoniousrelationbetweenpeopleandnature,andthebuildingofagreenecologicalcorridorarealsounderkeenfocus.
Furthermore,promotinggreen,cyclic,andlow-carbonregionaldevelopmentisalsoapriority.Makingfulluseofmarket-orientedmeans,improvingthemechanismsofpricing,resourcesandtheenvironment,upgradingtraditionalindustries,technologicalinnovation,andgreenfinancearegoalsbeingworkedon.
It鈥檚crucialtoimprovethemulti-modetransportsystemandbuildasafe,convenient,green,andlow-carboncomprehensivetransportnetwork.ThereisastrategytointegratetheconceptofecologicalprogressintotheconstructionofanurbanagglomerationintheYangtzeRiverEconomicBelt,andbuildaworld-classurbanagglomerationecosystemintheYangtzeRiverDelta.Theregionaimstobecomearesource-conservingandenvironment-friendlysocietyandanecologicalshieldinthemiddlereachesoftheYangtzeRiver.
Second,balancedandcoordinateddevelopmentpromotesregionalpoolingofresourcesforsci&techandinnovation.Thecooperationmechanismwillbeestablishedandimprovedtoimprovetheefficiencyofcoordinatedinnovation.ItwillgivefullplaytotheleadingroleoftheShanghaiGlobalCenterforScienceandInnovationandbuildacross-regionalinnovationcooperationalliance.Itaimsatthecoretechnologiesofintelligentmanufacturing,newenergy,newmaterials,InternetofThings,bigdata,andaerospace.Itwillcollaborativelyconductscientificresearchandindustrializationapplicationdemonstration.Atthesametime,theregionwillstrengthensupportforinnovativecapital,market,andtalentstofosterandexpandgreentechnologyinnovationplayers,andprovidestrongsupportforindustrialtransformationandupgrading.
World-classmanufacturinginnovationcentersandsci&techthinktanksatimportantnodeswillbesetup.In10provincialcapitalcitiesandmunicipalitiesdirectlyunderthecentralgovernmentalongtheriver,anetworkedlayoutwillbedesignedtomakecomprehensivemanufacturinginnovationcenters,tobuildamanufacturinginnovationnetworkcoveringthewholebasininordertomeettheneedsofthedevelopmentofregionalinnovationengines.
Third,acoordinatedandbalancedmoderneconomicsystemisplanned.Itwillacceleratethebuildingofaunifiedlargemarket.Thiscallsforbreakingadministrativebarriersbetweenregionsandacceleratinginterconnectivity,advancingriverporttransportationsystem,buildingacomprehensivetransportationcorridor,andimprovingthefunctionsofthegoldenwaterwayandtraffichubs.Industrialtransferandflowofproductionfactorswillalsobeaccelerated.Supportwillbegiventostrategiccooperationinbuildingindustrialparksandindustrialenclavestoforgecomplementaryadvantagesandpromotewin-wincooperationintheregion.OnMay8,2018,a50,000-tonvesselfromtheRepublicoftheMarshallIslandsisloadedattheTianyuwharfofNanjingPort.Promotingsupply-sidestructuralreformintheBelt,thegovernmentwill,ononehand,supportreform,innovation,andfindnewgrowthdrivers,andontheother,weedoutbackwardandexcessproductioncapacity.Itwillendeavortoformamodernindustrialcorridorwithahighdegreeofagglomerationandstronginternationalcompetitiveness.Itwillpromotecentralizedtreatmentandrecyclingofwasteinindustrialparksandpushforwardindustrialtransformationandupgradingalongtheriver.Concertedeffortswillbemadetoexpandproductionservicesinthebasin,andshiftmanufacturingfromproduction-orientedtoservice-oriented.Relyingontheconstructionofaworld-classurbanagglomeration,aworld-classindustrialclusterinwhichdifferentregionsbuildtheirrespectiveadvantagestostriveforcoordinatedandhigh-qualitydevelopmentwillbebuiltintheBelt.
Fourth,anewpatternofopeningupoftheYangtzeRiverEconomicBeltistobeshapedbyharmoni-ousandbalanceddevelopment.ThebuildingofFreeTradeZoneswillbeaccelerated.Asthe11provincesandcitiesalongtheriveroverlapwiththefiveFTZsinShanghai,Zhejiang,Hubei,Chongqing,andSichuan,goodopportunitiesarelyinginfrontoftheBelttocreateaninternational,market-oriented,andlaw-basedbusinessenvironment.Asaresult,itcanorderlypromotetheopeningupofthesectorsofpublicservices,productionservicesandfinance,andenhancethefunctionsofFTZs.Itwillalsobuildfreetradeportstoelevateitsopeneconomytoahigherlevel.
Allofthiswillsyncupeffectivelywiththemassivetransnationalundertaking,theBeltandRoadInitiative.ItwillactasacatalystandcomplementactivitythatpromotesdevelopmentandfurtheringofdevelopmentinitiativesfallingunderthedevelopmentumbrellaoftheBeltandRoadInitiative.Allinall,thiswillundergirdthefoundationuponwhichtheseonceinaneraundertakingscanflourishandreachtheirdevelopmentalpotential.
CHENGCHANGCHUNisformerPartysecretaryofNantongUniversity,directorofJiangsuYangtzeEconomicBeltResearchInstitute,chiefexpertofNantongUniversitythinktank,andPhDsupervisor.