Yangtze plan shows path forward for delta's future

Technology and industrial innovation should be further strengthened in the Yangtze River Delta as one of China's most economically vital regions is expected to play a pioneering, demonstrative and radiating role in China's modernization, according to the State Council's approval of a long-term development plan.

The State Council, China's Cabinet, recently released its approval of the region's territorial spatial plan from 2023 to 2035, a blueprint for sustainable development and the basis for future development, protection and construction work. It is the first national-level spatial plan approved for the region.

The plan calls for safeguarding the spatial needs of key areas such as the G60 S&T Innovation Valley, and for optimizing the layout of traditional industrial land along the Yangtze River and coastal areas. It said traditional industries should be upgraded and moved to northern Jiangsu and Anhui provinces as well as the riverside areas of Anhui.

Cities in the delta should utilize their strengths in technology development as innovation and industrial resources are restructured, said Ruan Qing, executive deputy director of the economic and finance commission of the Shanghai Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He said technology-supportive policies rolled out in different cities should carry equal weight across the region to advance the high-quality development of innovation-driven industrial clusters.

Shanghai should lead the integration of its metropolitan area with the surrounding cities of Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou, and coordinate spatial planning with Nanjing, Hangzhou, Hefei and Ningbo to build a world-class city cluster, according to the plan.

Metropolitan agglomerations can serve as starting points to strengthen commuting ties within the delta and develop special functional zones, said Zhang Zhongwei, deputy director of the Shanghai Development and Reform Commission.

Coordination will be essential for technological innovation, improved logistics, green and low-carbon development, and economic resilience in the next five years, Zhang said. Cross-regional legislation, he added, can enhance governance stability and deliver stronger institutional benefits.

The plan also calls for coastal areas in the delta to bolster their roles as ports and shipping hubs, and for orderly development of deep-sea space to tap marine potential.

China's eastern coastal marine economy, centered on the Yangtze River Delta, saw total output exceed 3.34 trillion yuan ($472 billion) last year, a historic high that accounted for 11.9 percent of regional GDP, according to the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The plan also sets bottom lines for cultivated land, ecological protection red-line zones and total water consumption in the region.