Joining Hands to Climb High, View Scenic Spots, Compete for Excellence, and Achieve Innovative Achievements - Higher Quality Integrated Development in the Yangtze River Delta - Frontline Observation Integration | Yangtze River Delta | Quality

At sunrise riverside flowers are redder than fire, in spring green waves grow as blue as sapphire. The Yangtze River Delta, where rivers and lakes intersect, has been economically prosperous and culturally prosperous since ancient times.

This year marks the 5th anniversary of the Yangtze River Delta integration development becoming a national strategy. In the new era and new journey, China, the region with the most active economic development, the highest degree of openness, and the strongest innovation ability, bears an important mission and gathers a magnificent force.

In recent days, journalists have conducted research and interviews in the Yangtze River Delta region, focusing on the keywords of "integration" and "high-quality". The three provinces and cities of Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui have focused on key areas of coordinated promotion, strengthened implementation of major projects, and in-depth cooperation on major platforms, with a focus on key areas, from the gathering of foreign investment in financial cities to the source of technological innovation, from the highway and railway bridges connecting the Yangtze River and the sea to the beautiful countryside where people and prosperity coexist... Together, they have drawn a beautiful picture of higher quality integrated development in the Yangtze River Delta.

Everyone paddles, the integration process accelerates in multiple directions

The Hu Su Tong Yangtze River Bridge is a dual-purpose bridge that spans the Yangtze River and connects Shanghai and Jiangsu. Driving on the bridge deck, I saw giant ships shuttling and the river crashing on the shore. Since its opening in 2020, the shortest railway travel time between Nantong and Shanghai in Jiangsu has been compressed from about 3.5 hours to about 1 hour.

Sunset scenery along the coast of the Shanghai Sutong Yangtze River Highway and Railway Bridge. Photo by Yang Lei, Xinhua News Agency reporter

"The transformation of 'both sides of the Yangtze River' into 'both ends of the bridge', and the transformation of 'Nantong is not connected' into 'one hundred connections', reflect the flourishing scene of the Yangtze River Delta accelerating the interconnection of transportation infrastructure." Cao Xiaojian, Deputy Director of the Nantong Transportation Bureau, said.

The construction of the Hangzhou Deqing City Railway, undertaken by China Railway 24th Bureau Group, is accelerating between Hangzhou City and Deqing County in Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province. After completion and opening to traffic, it will accelerate the development of urbanization between Hangzhou and Deqing in Huzhou.

At the construction site of Hangde City Railway in Deqing County, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, workers from China Railway Corporation Limited are working inside the tunnel. Shen Jizhong

In recent years, relying on the national comprehensive transportation corridor and deepening the integration of transportation services and governance in three provinces and one city, the Yangtze River Delta has become one of the areas with the densest high-speed rail network and the most convenient transportation in China.

The high-speed railway has a mileage of over 6600 kilometers, and all prefecture level cities in the land area are accessible by high-speed trains; 16700 kilometers of highway network; The scale of the high-grade waterway network exceeds 4270 kilometers. Among them, in 2022, there will be a new increase of over 130 kilometers of railway, 4 new inter provincial highway interfaces, and 12 new inter provincial adjacent bus routes opened.

The road has been opened, the distance between time, space, and psychology has been narrowed, and development opportunities are like an endless source of fresh water.

"The investment commissioner has arranged everything and will show you the situation of the park when we arrive later." During the conversation with the reporter, Ye Xinqiao, the director of the Investment Promotion Bureau of the Yangtze River Delta Industrial Cooperation Zone Management Committee, kept ringing his phone.

In 2020, the three provinces and one city of the Yangtze River Delta jointly signed the Strategic Cooperation Framework Agreement for Building the Yangtze River Delta Industrial Cooperation Zone, covering six counties in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui, becoming the second inter provincial cooperation platform named "Yangtze River Delta" after the Yangtze River Delta Ecological Green Integration Development Demonstration Zone.

According to Wang Weixin, Director of the Management Committee of the Yangtze River Delta Industrial Cooperation Zone, over the past year since its official establishment, the zone has attracted a total of 32 projects worth over 300 million yuan, of which the introduction of projects worth over 5 billion yuan has achieved zero breakthroughs. The two leading industries of new energy vehicles and key components, as well as high-end equipment manufacturing, are forming a gathering trend.

The staff are working on the assembly line of Tesla's Shanghai Super Factory. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ma Ning

The higher quality integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta not only requires opening up tangible roads, but also breaking down intangible administrative barriers, allowing for the full flow of production factors such as talent and capital.

As of now, more than 2100 innovative achievements have been incubated and transformed, and more than 1200 enterprises have officially settled in, including 14 globally renowned multinational pharmaceutical companies. The China Pharmaceutical City located in Taizhou, Jiangsu has formed an industrial cluster for high-quality development of the pharmaceutical and health industry.

In 2022, China Pharmaceutical City introduced a new version of the "113 Talent Plan", with special funds increasing from 100 million yuan per year to 200 million yuan. Deeply promoting the construction of "talent zones", more than 4300 high-level talents in the field of biomedicine have been gathered.

Yang Guangpu, Deputy Researcher of the Development Research Center of the State Council, stated that institutional transaction costs have significantly decreased, government governance efficiency has been comprehensively improved, and the activity and development quality of business entities will be significantly improved. While accelerating the integrated development process of the Yangtze River Delta region, these are also conducive to consolidating the foundation of national economic recovery and promoting high-quality development of the Chinese economy.

Thousand sails competing, open and innovative, containing infinite vitality

Overlooking the entire port area from the 9th floor rooftop of Ningbo Meidong Container Terminal Co., Ltd. Building: Looking to the left, multiple ocean going giant ships loaded with containers are steadily stopping at dedicated berths, and dozens of bridge cranes are working intensively; Looking to the right, the newly produced cars are parked at the Ro/Ro dock yard, waiting for loading to "sail out" or preparing to "sail" into the domestic market.

A roll on/roll off ship is docked at Meidong Port in Zhoushan Port, Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, and the loaded cars are departing from the ship. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Huang Zongzhi

As the world's largest port in terms of cargo throughput, Ningbo Zhoushan Port completed a cargo throughput of 445 million tons in the first four months of this year, a year-on-year increase of 7.48%, providing strong support for stabilizing the industrial chain supply chain and serving the new development pattern.

Facing the busy Pacific main waterway, the Yangtze River Delta now has Shanghai and Ningbo Zhoushan ports as its core, with 16 ports such as Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Suzhou as its backbone. The overall pattern of the port cluster, which is jointly developed by other ports, has basically formed. In 2022, the container throughput of Yangtze River Delta ports accounts for about 38% of the national weight.

"Jointly promote integration and serve double cycles." Ren Xiaobo, member of the Party Committee and deputy general manager of Ningbo Zhoushan Port Co., Ltd., said that in recent years, under the background of the country's all-round, multi-level and wide-ranging opening-up, Ningbo Zhoushan Port has fully participated in international and domestic multi regional cooperation and continued to integrate into the "the Belt and Road", the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Yangtze River Delta integration.

"On the sea side, we joined hands with global shipping giants to increase the development of air routes in countries and regions along the the Belt and Road, increasing the number of container routes to 300, radiating more than 600 ports in more than 200 countries and regions around the world; on the land side, we made every effort to promote the 'Ningbo Zhoushan Port Zhejiang Jiangxi Hunan' container sea rail multimodal transport demonstration project, opening 23 sea rail intermodal trains and multiple group lines, radiating 63 prefecture level cities in 16 provinces." Ren said.

Innovation is the primary driving force for development. In recent years, the three provinces and cities of Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui have forged strengths and made up for weaknesses in technological self-reliance and self-improvement, striving to make innovation the "key variable" the "maximum increment" of high-quality development.

The fully superconducting tokamak fusion experimental setup was captured on May 29th on Science Island in Hefei, Anhui. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Du Xiaoyi

403 seconds! On the "Science Island" located in the western suburbs of Hefei, the fully superconducting tokamak fusion experimental device, known as China's "artificial sun," has recently successfully achieved steady-state high confinement mode plasma operation, setting a new world record. This achievement is of great significance for exploring cutting-edge physical problems in future fusion reactors, and improving the economic and feasibility of nuclear fusion energy.

Fusion energy, deep space exploration, stable strong magnetic field... Liu Jianguo, president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Hefei Institute of Physical Sciences, said that with the "east wind" of the Yangtze River Delta and the "express train" of integration, Anhui has bravely become a "pioneer" on the road of science and technology and industrial innovation, and has produced a batch of major scientific and technological achievements that set new world records and have international influence.

Frontier technology requires both original innovation and industrial implementation. Only by bringing innovative achievements from the "laboratory" to the "production line" and transforming them into the quality and efficiency of industrial development, can we achieve a leap from "strong technology" to "strong industry and economy".

Workers are working in the workshop of Jiangsu Kanghui New Materials Technology Co., Ltd. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ma Ning

"The thickness range of the polyester film we produce is 2 to 350 microns. In addition to being used for mobile phone screens and computer screens, it can also be used in fields such as integrated circuits, automobiles, electronics and electrical, functional packaging, and new decorative materials." Ju Jinhu, Deputy General Manager of Jiangsu Kanghui New Materials Technology Co., Ltd., introduced that some of the company's products can fill the gap in the domestic market and solve some of the "bottleneck" problems.

Mutual integration and sharing, expanding the "happiness circle" of people's livelihoods

From the outside, this place is no different from police stations in various regions. You can enter the lobby, and on the long office desk, there are two table signs, "Jiangsu Comprehensive Window" and "Anhui Comprehensive Window", respectively.

The border between Danyang Town in Bowang District, Ma'anshan, Anhui and Danyang Community in Hengxi Street, Jiangning District, Nanjing, Jiangsu. In February 2023, the "Two Provinces and One Street" police office in Danyang, Jiangsu and Anhui provinces, was officially unveiled, and the government service windows of the two public security organs were opened in one location.

On June 2nd, the entrance of the Danyang Police Office in the "Two Provinces and One Street" region of Jiangsu and Anhui was captured. Danyang Town in Bowang District, Ma'anshan, Anhui Province and Danyang Community in Hengxi Street, Jiangning District, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province intersect, and the two Danyang originally belonged to the same area. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Du Xiaoyi

Ms. Ding, an Anhui native who is currently applying for a residence permit, lives within the boundaries of Jiangsu. "Previously, obtaining a permit required several trips back and forth, but now it's much more convenient to come to one place and complete the process," she said

The close economic connections and frequent personnel exchanges in the Yangtze River Delta region promote the convenient sharing of basic public services, continuously increase the sense of gain and happiness of the people, which is the essence of integrated development.

Shanghai has led the formation of a special team to promote the "One Network Service" of government services in the Yangtze River Delta. Currently, 140 government service items have been processed across provinces and cities in 41 cities, and 37 high-frequency electronic certificates such as ID cards, driver's licenses, and driving licenses have been shared and recognized. As of the end of 2022, the third-generation social security cards from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces can be used for card swiping and transportation in 327 cities across the country. There are already 1717 cultural and tourism venues in the Yangtze River Delta region that support card based travel.

At the Wuxi branch of Ruijin Hospital affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine located in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, patients consult at the service desk. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ma Ning

Sitting at the Wuxi branch from Monday to Friday and returning to the Shanghai General Hospital on weekends - this is the weekly itinerary of Shao Jie, the director of the Wuxi branch of Shanghai Ruijin Hospital. According to her, many doctors here live the same "dual city life" as her, just to provide better medical resources to patients.

"The deeper the integration of the Yangtze River Delta, the greater the demand for the public to share high-quality medical resources." Shao Jie said that more than 400 experts from Shanghai Ruijin Hospital have completed their practice registration at the Wuxi branch and regularly carry out diagnostic and treatment activities. For difficult and severe patients who do not have the necessary treatment conditions at the Wuxi branch, a green referral channel has been established to coordinate and communicate with the general hospital in advance for treatment and hospitalization beds.

Under the influence of the "Thousand Village Demonstration and Ten Thousand Village Renovation" project, the Giraffe Manor, Lao Deng Manga Museum, Green Luxury Resort, and 5D Butterfly themed Restaurant have generally improved the comfort of rural living environment, the prosperity of rural industries, the completeness of infrastructure, and the convenience of public services in the Yangtze River Delta region. The picture of people's livelihood, which integrates ecological beauty, economic prosperity, and cultural and cultural development, is spreading among the green mountains and rivers.

A scene taken on May 24th in Muchen Village, Muchen She Ethnic Township, Longyou County, Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Du Xiaoyi

Resigning from her position as a senior executive in a city travel agency, Zhao Limin transformed her original wedding room into a six room homestay. Standing at the age of thirty, she transformed her life into a "poetic" one in Miaoshan Village, Miaoxi Town, Wuxing District, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province.

Ni Jian, the mayor of Miaoxi Town, told reporters that in the context of rural revitalization, relying on the beautiful and elegant landscape and culture, Miaoshan Village has developed a rural tourism economy, and has embarked on a path of "common prosperity" by introducing beautiful projects with beautiful ecology, promoting beautiful countryside with beautiful projects, and feeding back beautiful ecology with beautiful countryside.

At the surging tide of the river and sea, when setting sail and striving forward.

Under the guidance of Xi Jinping's thought of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, the Yangtze River Delta region is breaking through the waves, and a new picture of higher-quality integrated development is slowly unfolding.

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