Colleagues gave him a nickname: "Living Fossil" Cadre in the Yangtze River Delta | Luo Weiguang | Yangtze River Delta

Luo Weiguang, a department level official of the Jiangsu Provincial Development and Reform Commission, is over 50 years old. Starting from 2018, he went to Shanghai and joined the newly established Yangtze River Delta Regional Cooperation Office. Every Sunday night, he carries a black backpack to rush to the high-speed train in Shanghai. Before leaving, he would say to his wife, "I'm leaving!" like a child going to school. The Changshan Office is a permanent institution of the Yangtze River Delta cooperation mechanism, and may also be the most special official institution. More than 20 cadres from Shanghai, Anhui, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu are no longer the former department heads, directors, and directors of the unit. They have no high or low rank and cross administrative divisions, collectively becoming the "shop assistants" of the Yangtze River Delta. Five years have passed, and Luo Weiguang still looks energetic. When it comes to rising, he talks endlessly. After 5 years of running between Nanjing and Shanghai, Luo Weiguang had already taken the high-speed train out of the subway feeling. Every time he arrived at the station, he would buy a ticket without delaying boarding. However, starting this year, the feeling of the subway has disappeared, but this is a good thing. The flow of people in the Yangtze River Delta region is becoming increasingly tight, and tickets are often sold short. Luo Weiguang needs to buy tickets one week in advance. This is the unique sense of achievement of the integration of the Yangtze River Delta that belongs to Luo Weiguang.

Luo Weiguang

"Living fossils"

At first, this was not a simple decision. I have been working in Nanjing for half my life and have passed the year of destiny. Suddenly, I want to go to Shanghai. The decision was very urgent. On the day he received the appointment notice, Luo Weiguang was queuing up at the hospital to get his medicine. He called and said he wanted to go back whatever he wanted. "It is said that we need someone who is familiar with both transportation and the Yangtze River Delta." Luo Weiguang joked, "Isn't this what I drew?" As early as 2002, Luo Weiguang had already started working in the Yangtze River Delta. At that time, the characteristics of integration were not yet obvious. Let's first talk about regional cooperation. The enthusiasm of each province and city was high, and they spontaneously organized development symposiums and established special groups for mutual benefit and win-win. After several years of development, joint meetings have gradually become institutionalized and are determined by rotation, with annual batons being handed over. As the level of cooperation in the Yangtze River Delta region continues to deepen, the desire for integration becomes stronger, and the rotation method gradually cannot meet the demand. "Because people in various functional departments were constantly changing, after several rounds, many projects could not find their origins, and there were still many projects that had no one to continue." Luo Weiguang recalled, "After everyone discussed it, we still needed a dedicated group of people to promote it." Therefore, in early 2018, the Changsan Office was born in response, with its office located on Wukang Road in Shanghai. Cadres from three provinces and one city, Shanghai, Anhui, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu, with more than 20 people in front and behind, jointly work here, becoming the first official permanent institution across administrative divisions in the process of Yangtze River Delta integration. It seems natural for Luo Weiguang to be sent to Shanghai due to his extensive experience. Many colleagues knew about his experience and gave him a joking nickname: the "living fossil" of the Yangtze River Delta. In the first year of the third year of the school, arguments are the norm. Since its listing, the Yangtze River Delta Office has started a high-speed operation mode, with the first major task being to complete the "Three Year Action Plan for Integrated Development of the Yangtze River Delta Region" within three months. Every staff member who comes to the office has a dual identity and bears two responsibilities. On the one hand, they come with demands from various regions and should fully raise them when promoting cooperation. On the other hand, everyone is working together to achieve the common goal of integrating the Yangtze River Delta, and we must seek "great benefits". Each province and city brought a total of 195 demands, and more than 180 were ultimately included in the preparation of the action plan. Almost every demand is accompanied by controversy, and face-to-face arguments turn red and red. Luo Weiguang is the leader of the Transportation Energy Group, covering a wide range of topics such as broken roads, intercity railways, airports, waterways, ports, subway one code access, and the removal of inter provincial toll stations. If the project is not arranged, it will be "noisy". If the timing of the arrangement is later, it will be "noisy", and even if the written expression does not meet the other party's requirements, it will be "noisy". "Sometimes when I 'argue' and get upset, I find someone to complain to." Luo Weiguang smiled and said, "Arguments are normal. Once we 'argue' and understand, our differences will be bridged. With consensus, we will work together to move forward." Often, after calming down, Luo Weiguang would go back to 'arguing' with passion. At that time, after visiting the Changsan Office, our reporter wrote a sigh in the article: "This place is not like a traditional government office, but rather like a startup company preparing for IPO and thriving." In June of th

"Uncle Lao Niang"

On this side of Yuandang is Wujiang in Suzhou, and on the other side is Qingpu in Shanghai. The two cities of Shanghai and Jiangsu may seem very close, but in the past, residents across the lake had to take a small path to travel between them. However, if they were closer, they could only pass by people and non motorized vehicles; Either take the 318 National Highway or G50 Expressway as a detour, which will take a considerable amount of time and also require passing toll booths. Opening up this road was the first dead end project undertaken by the Infrastructure Group of the Changsan Office after its establishment. In the three-year action plan for the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, it is planned to break through 17 such dead ends. These dead end roads all have a characteristic, most of which are small-scale county and township roads. Luo Weiguang said, "How to build a cross-border overpass bridge? We have corresponding communication mechanisms for first level roads, provincial roads, and expressways, and we have never done it on such district and county roads. County and township level roads are the capillaries of communication and exchange. Although roads are not wide or long, they can also affect the efficiency of regional economic flow.". The Fenhu Economic Development Zone in Wujiang has always had a close relationship with Shanghai. Enterprises in the development zone need to transport their goods by road from Shanghai port to sea, by air from Shanghai airport, and other industries that have already landed in Shanghai. But to break through this dead end, it will involve the planning, investment, and construction of two provinces and cities. The bottleneck of the previous mechanism is far greater than the technical difficulties. Luo Weiguang said, "How was the dead end road formed? This road may not be urgently needed in Shanghai, and the schedule has not been scheduled, but Jiangsu is very urgent. However, to enter the Shanghai border, funds and land indicators will be provided by Shanghai. In other words, this is a completely altruistic road." When working in Jiangsu, considering the perspective of Jiangsu Province, Luo Weiguang was once angry about the dead end road. When it comes to the third year office, his mentality is different. "It's not Shanghai's fault for this matter. Spending money and effort is not beneficial, why be proactive?" This requires a consensus of mutual benefit and a mechanism that can break the existing administrative structure. "Before, neither Wujiang nor Shanghai could talk," said Luo Weiguang. Wujiang Transportation Bureau was at the department level, while Shanghai Transportation Bureau was at the department level, with a significant difference in level. Meetings were inconvenient, and many issues could not be communicated. But the third year office can come forward to negotiate and play the role of an "old lady's uncle", inviting responsible persons from both sides to sit down and chat, each proposing conditions, and fully communicating. In order to break through the dead end of Yuandang, the first cross provincial water project administrative licensing decision in China has been released. One approval document is stamped with the red seals of Shanghai and Suzhou, giving birth to a new approval sequence number: demonstration zone for water related projects. The project number is: 2020 001. After the opening of the cut off road, Luo Weiguang's colleagues and reporters went to the scene and randomly selected drivers who drove by on the road for interviews. They praised each other, saying, "There is no need to detour from the highway anymore. The originally 40 minute drive has now been shortened to 5 minutes." There are also many stories about the "old lady uncle" of the Yangtze River Delta office, and in 2019, the Yangtze River Delta subway achieved one yard traffic. In the early stage of project implementation, the difficulty is very high, and each region has its own set of charging systems, which are used to and unwilling to change. The Changsan Office has no vest

"People from the Yangtze River Delta"

Now, Luo Weiguang has started his next five years in the Changsan Office. He would say "I went to Shanghai" every time he left home, and once he accidentally said "I returned to Shanghai". "My wife said that I have become a person from the Yangtze River Delta and will be going to the Yangtze River Delta again. After thinking about it, she is very right," Luo Weiguang sighed. After several years of exploration, the Changsan Office has formed a mature work mechanism and established a "point, line, and surface" work system. Regarding the establishment of mechanisms and platforms for the Yangtze River Delta, Luo Weiguang has a vivid description: "After laying eggs, chicks will hatch and go to work." Currently, dozens of platforms, big and small, have been built in the Yangtze River Delta. Some platforms are extensions of the Yangtze River Delta office model, with centralized office work, while others maintain monthly or quarterly meetings. Regarding the line, the Changshan Office has divided it into 15 special topics, relying on functional departments to focus on communication and solving problems in cooperation. Regarding points, the main leaders of the three provinces and one city hold a symposium every year. After summarizing and refining the content of the meeting, 24 key tasks are sorted out each year for three consecutive years. According to the division of labor, the leading department is identified, a special team is established, and supervision and follow-up are carried out. In terms of regional integration and development, the Changsan Office itself is an innovation. This coordination mechanism is being promoted on a larger scale. The job opportunities offered by the third year office have also become a coveted opportunity, and some cadres are willing to voluntarily suspend their positions and study at their own expense. As the integration process continues to deepen, the work of the Changsan Office has been adjusted accordingly. In 2018, in the first three-year plan, infrastructure construction was particularly prominent, which is the foundation of integration; In 2021, when preparing the second three-year plan, the industrial chain became a focus, focusing on the construction of industrial clusters and systems, and doing a good job in supplementing, fixing, and strengthening the chain. Luo Weiguang increasingly feels that there is still a lot of work that can be done and needs to be done. For example, the time period during which hazardous chemicals can pass through highways in three provinces and one city is different, which increases the time cost of logistics transportation. If the platform of the Changsan Office can be used, according to certain standards, unified rules and scales, it will be conducive to the formation of a unified large market in the region. Integrating into deep water areas, the Changshan Office needs to tackle tough challenges. Now, the second round of the three-year plan is also nearing its end. Next, the Changshan Office is brewing and planning the third round of three-year plans. "The focus of the next stage is on industry+science and technology innovation. Through regional cooperation, it facilitates the flow of factors, promotes scientific and technological innovation based on industry demand, and helps more scientific and technological achievements to be transformed and implemented."