How did the "dark horse" Chuzhou become the "host" of the Yangtze River Delta Coordination Conference? This is what Wu Jin, Secretary of the Chuzhou Municipal Party Committee and Mayor, said

This year is the sixth year that the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta has been elevated to a national strategy. In order to implement the spirit of the General Secretary's important instructions, Liberation Daily and Shangguan News launched a series of interviews with political figures in the Yangtze River Delta cities, interviewing responsible comrades in key cities in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui to discuss how to further promote the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta.

In Chuzhou, we often hear company bosses say that Chuzhou is a "dark horse" in the Yangtze River Delta in recent years. Is this true? Wu Jin, secretary of the Chuzhou Municipal Party Committee and mayor, said in an interview that in recent years, riding on the momentum of integration, Chuzhou's development has entered the fast lane.

What is the fast lane? Wu Jin took out a set of data: in terms of economic size, Chuzhou has risen from 185th in the country in 2012 to 89th in 2023, creating an impressive "Chuzhou speed". In 2019, Chuzhou's total economic output jumped from fifth in Anhui to third, second only to Hefei and Wuhu.

In the past, when people talked about Chuzhou, its popularity was probably not as high as that of Fengyang County, not to mention Xiaogang Village, the main birthplace of China's rural reform. Some people even confused "Chuzhou, Xuzhou and Huzhou". In recent years, as its dark horse potential has been gradually tapped, a saying has been circulating in the business community in the Yangtze River Delta: Chuzhou has "the location of Nanjing and the cost of Anhui".

Chuzhou is located at the eastern gate of Anhui, close to Hefei and Nanjing, and is in the "double circle overlap" area of ​​the two major metropolitan areas. Since 2018, Chuzhou has regarded the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta as its biggest opportunity, and has used integration into the two major metropolitan areas as a breakthrough for integration into the Yangtze River Delta integration. Chuzhou's actions do not stop there. In April 2012, the Sino-Singapore Suzhou-Chuzhou High-tech Zone started construction. This is the first development park of Suzhou Industrial Park out of Jiangsu. In September 2021, based in Shanghai and facing the Yangtze River Delta, Chuzhou launched the Chuzhou International Reception Hall at the Shanghai Hongqiao International Open Hub. In 2013, Chuzhou, an "auditor", officially joined the Yangtze River Delta Urban Economic Coordination Council, and this year it became the "host" of the 23rd plenary meeting of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Economic Coordination Council in 2024.

The Anhui Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government have high hopes for Chuzhou and said that "it has the conditions to take off." In order to write a new chapter of integration into the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, Wu Jin said that Chuzhou will hold high the banner of reform, carry forward the Xiaogang spirit, further implement the mechanism of deep integration into the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, "go out" with greater efforts and "invite in" on a larger scale, and strive to show new achievements and make new contributions in actively serving and integrating into the national strategies of the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta.

Make good use of "Nanjing's location, Anhui's cost"

Wu Jin: Chuzhou participated in the co-construction of the Nanjing Metropolitan Area in 2001. In the metropolitan area, the integration of Nanjing and Chuzhou was proposed the earliest and promoted the fastest.

In my opinion, achieving a "one map" plan is a prerequisite for the integration of Nanjing and Chuzhou. Chuzhou has deepened the connection and coordination of planning systems at all levels with Nanjing, and jointly compiled more than 20 plans, including the "Nanjing Metropolitan Area Development Plan" and the "Chunning Integrated Development National Land Space Strategic Plan", to provide planning guidance for deep integration into the Nanjing Metropolitan Area.

Efforts have been made to build a "network" of transportation between Nanjing and Chuzhou. In recent years, nearly 30 key transportation projects have been planned for the integrated and coordinated development of Nanjing and Chuzhou. The construction of rail transit, expressways, and expressways connected to Nanjing has been accelerated, forming a "half-hour" commuting circle between Nanjing and Chuzhou. In terms of rail transit, the Chuzhou section of the Chuzhou-Ningbo Intercity Railway, the first inter-provincial intercity railway in the country, was officially put into operation in July last year. This year, the Nanjing section has officially started construction. In addition, the construction of the Shanghai-Nanjing Hefei High-speed Railway has been accelerated, and the Nanjing-Chuzhou-Bengbu Railway and the Nanjing-Tianjin Intercity Railway Phase II have been included in the relevant national plans.

Chuzhou has the "location of Nanjing and the cost of Anhui". We are actively accepting the radiation and industrial transfer of Nanjing to build an industrial "chain". On the one hand, we continue to promote the coordinated matching of the Ningchu industrial chain and supply chain. Last year, more than 1/10 of the new projects worth more than 100 million yuan signed in Chuzhou came from Nanjing; on the other hand, we continue to deepen the paired cooperation between Ningchu, and three Ningchu and northern Anhui inter-provincial industrial cooperation parks have been established, including the Fengyang Inter-provincial Cooperation Park in Nanjing Economic Development Zone, the Jiangning-Mingguang Cooperation Industrial Park, and the Dingyuan Cooperation Industrial Park in Nanjing Jiangbei New Materials Science and Technology Park.

Wu Jin: In Chanhe Town of Lai'an County, Chuzhou, the probability of seeing Nanjing license plates with the number "Su A" is extremely high. It is separated from Nanjing Dingshan Street by only a river and is known as "the township closest to provincial capitals in China." The town has introduced more than 130 rail transit equipment companies, 80% of which are from Nanjing.

The new functional zone built around the inter-provincial adjacent areas of Dingshan-Chanhe and Pukou-Nanqiao is the most exemplary achievement in the integrated development of Ningchu.

In terms of cooperation mechanism, on the one hand, we organize the municipal party and government delegation to visit Nanjing every year to comprehensively strengthen the cooperation with Nanjing at all levels and in all fields. On the other hand, we focus on the construction of inter-provincial adjacent areas, explore the establishment of a management and operation mechanism of "leading group, management committee, development subject", realize the joint planning, joint fund establishment, joint park construction, joint operation, and market-oriented promotion of the development and construction of cooperative areas.

In terms of development support, based on the development positioning of Nanjing's industry as a "cooperation zone" and "receiving area", the two new functional zones' strategic positioning, development goals, spatial structure, industrial development, and ecological co-protection and co-governance will be clarified, and coordinated development areas will be set up to provide spatial guarantees for the new functional zones.

The workshop of Chuzhou Jietai New Energy Company is located in the Chahe area of ​​the Ningchu interprovincial border area. File photo

In the next step, we will focus on "pioneering, leading by example, and radiating and driving", further improve the coordinated development mechanisms of adjacent provinces such as cross-regional cost-sharing and benefit-sharing mechanisms, and accelerate the creation of benchmark and replicable adjacent cooperation model areas.

Wu Jin: In recent years, Chuzhou has been adhering to the new positioning of "building a high-level regional modern city in the Yangtze River Delta", giving full play to its comparative advantages, promoting all-round docking and cooperation with Nanjing and Hefei, and striving to take the lead among the cities in the Yangtze River Delta.

Chuzhou focuses on deepening cooperation, leveraging opportunities and turning the "siphon effect" into "getting the best of both worlds". In terms of industrial development, Chuzhou is building a division of labor and cooperation system with the first-developed regions in the Yangtze River Delta for staggered development and complementary advantages. In the past three years, Chuzhou has undertaken more than 100 projects with a total investment of more than 50 billion yuan from Nanjing's industrial transfer projects. At the same time, it has promoted the construction of the Hechu Industrial Corridor at a high level, took the lead in establishing the Hefei Metropolitan Area Smart Home Appliances Special Industry Alliance, and supported Quanjiao and Hefei Economic Development Zone to jointly build an industrial cooperation park, and Dingyuan and Hefei Changfeng to jointly build an automotive parts manufacturing industrial park.

Chuzhou insists on promoting Chuzhou's strengths and making up for its weaknesses, turning "gap" into "space". Development gaps are often development spaces. Compared with Hefei and Nanjing, Chuzhou is a "lowland" that can learn from the development experience and practices of the two places and share the high-quality resources and factors of the two places. Chuzhou participated in the co-construction of innovation platforms such as the Tianchang New Materials and Energy Technology Research and Development Center of Nanjing University, and co-built the "USTC Silicon Valley" and "Hefei University of Technology Smart Valley" with the University of Science and Technology of China and Hefei University of Technology respectively, promoting the implementation and transformation of scientific and technological innovation results in Chuzhou.

Chuzhou is promoting the integration of ideas, systems, mechanisms, and business environment with those of the two places in all aspects, creating a first-class "Ting Satisfaction" business environment, and has been named "the first choice city for Jiangsu businessmen to invest in China". At present, we are also deepening the reform of value-added government services, building the first comprehensive value-added service zone for enterprises in Anhui Province, and striving to create a "business-friendly" service system.

Wu Jin: In recent years, Chuzhou has always regarded the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta as its greatest opportunity, giving full play to its unique advantages and demonstrating "Chuzhou's achievements."

Chuzhou has many advantages in promoting integrated development. In terms of location, we have been unwavering in our eastward development for many years, accelerating the integration with Nanjing, deepening all-round cooperation with Suzhou, and actively accepting the radiation and drive of Shanghai. In terms of industry, in recent years, Chuzhou's "new three" industries have developed rapidly. It is currently accelerating the construction of Anhui Province's first city for advanced photovoltaic and new energy storage industries, the second city for power battery industries, and the third city for new energy vehicle industries, and is striving to build a gathering place for emerging industries in the Yangtze River Delta. In terms of space, Chuzhou currently has about 400 square kilometers of development space for large projects.

The workshop of the ASM advanced semiconductor packaging materials project in the Sino-Singapore Suzhou-Changzhou High-tech Zone. Photo by Ji Chengjun

Chuzhou also reaped the biggest dividends - we are making full use of the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, the Nanjing Metropolitan Area, the Hefei Metropolitan Area, the Ningchu pairing cooperation, and the Suzhou-Chuzhou cooperation and co-construction mechanism, and continue to deepen cooperation with cities, urban areas and industrial parks in the Yangtze River Delta, and deeply embed ourselves in the Yangtze River Delta industrial chain and supply chain. At present, Chuzhou's cooperation with urban areas and industrial parks in Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang has achieved full coverage of the county, among which the Suzhou-Chuzhou High-tech Zone has settled in more than 700 enterprises of various types, and the number of inter-provincial cooperation platforms ranks first in Anhui.

Wu Jin: In September 2021, Chuzhou International Reception Hall was established in the Hongqiao International Open Hub, and has hosted more than 50 major events in the past three years.

In my opinion, its window effect far exceeds expectations. On the one hand, the publicity and promotion of Chuzhou carried out in the reception hall continues to expand Chuzhou's popularity in the Yangtze River Delta and even the whole country; on the other hand, the reception hall has been built into an important platform for "attracting investment, talents and wisdom". Through holding activities such as "Starry Chuzhou·Meeting Hongqiao" and investment promotion, about 40 projects have been signed here. In May this year, the Starry Yangtze River Delta Talent Reception Hall was unveiled, which continued to promote the cross-regional flow of innovative factors such as talents, technology, and capital. At the same time, relying on the reception hall, the communication, exchanges and cooperation with Shanghai and even the Yangtze River Delta have been strengthened.

Next, we will use the reception room as a platform to explore the creation of "one hall and one park". At the same time, we will actively explore the establishment of the Shanghai-Chuzhou enclave economic park, deepen cooperation and construction with Yangpu, Xuhui, Songjiang and other places, so that more achievements can be transformed into finished products and results in Chuzhou, and achieve win-win cooperation between Shanghai and Chuzhou.

Wu Jin: Shanghai is the leader in integrated development. At present, the exchanges and cooperation between Shanghai and Chuzhou are closer, and the coordination and collaboration continue to deepen. At the same time, we expect Shanghai to further play a demonstration and leading role in accelerating the construction of the "five centers" and radiate to drive the development of Chuzhou.

Shanghai is an innovation hub with global influence. We hope to leverage the talent concentration of Shanghai universities to release technical talent needs such as "unveiling the list and appointing the leader", select a group of high-level talents from Shanghai universities to serve as "vice presidents of science and technology" of leading enterprises in Chuzhou, and promote the transfer and transformation of Shanghai's advanced scientific and technological achievements in Chuzhou.

There is also great potential for industrial collaboration between the two places. At present, Chuzhou has co-built "scientific and technological innovation industry" partner parks with Yangpu, Xuhui and other places, and established a "talent-strengthening city partner" relationship with the Shanghai Association of Outstanding Contribution Experts. Chuzhou is promoting the co-building of partner parks between provincial-level development zones and Shanghai scientific research institutions, science and technology parks, incubators, etc., and actively promoting the co-building of inter-provincial cooperation parks with Shanghai industrial parks in Chuzhou.

There is huge room for cooperation between the two places. Take the exchange of cadres and talents as an example. In recent years, we have sent 188 cadres to Shanghai for on-the-job training, and 4 Shanghai cadres have been sent to Chuzhou for on-the-job guidance. We hope to further carry out two-way on-the-job exchange of cadres with Shanghai, send cadres to Shanghai's economic and financial, investment promotion, park construction and other departments for training, and invite Shanghai cadres to Chuzhou for on-the-job guidance and to pass on their knowledge and experience.