It’s time for another test in Shanghai

"Leader" - for many years, Shanghai has such high hopes for the Yangtze River Delta, the Yangtze River Delta for the Yangtze River Economic Belt and even China as a whole; China's miraculous development process over the past decades has also proved that this land can truly bear the burden of It has taken on the mission of being a "leading leader" and used its own efforts and creativity to contribute to the country and influence the world.

In different periods, the leading position remains consistent, but the connotation of the mission is different. Correspondingly, how to truly realize "leading leadership" requires different ideological concepts, mental states, methods and gestures.

When General Secretary Xi Jinping inspected Shanghai at the end of last year, he clearly pointed out that the city must "give full play to its leading and exemplary role in promoting Chinese-style modernization." The symposium on in-depth promotion of the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta held at the same time pointed out that the Yangtze River Delta must "Be at the forefront of Chinese-style modernization and better play the role of pioneering, leading and demonstrating, and radiating and driving."

From the "leading" of the Yangtze River Delta to the "leading" of Chinese-style modernization, expectations are higher and the tasks required are heavier and more comprehensive. Now, what Shanghai needs to do is no longer just a leader in a region, nor is it just a leader in the dimensions of reform, opening up, and economic development. This city has rich experience and glorious experiences in these aspects.

But today, on the economic level alone, the challenges that Shanghai faces and the problems that need to be solved are different from those in the past; not to mention that here we need to be an all-round leader, at all levels including institutional, technical, material, and spiritual levels. Create models, provide experience, lead demonstrations, and use such practices to interpret the advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Five years after the integration of the Yangtze River Delta became a national strategy, the story that needs to be written here is no longer just that "it accounts for 1/26 of the country's land and about 1/6 of its population, creating a quarter of the country's economy." total amount". Stories like this are important and hard-won, but they are not enough.

Today, we need to take the lead in solving more deep-seated problems - to further improve the quality, efficiency and radiating role of development, further promote the establishment of a unified national market, further improve the level of division of labor and cooperation in the industrial chain and supply chain, further expand reform and opening up in depth, and further Improve the governance of very large and megacities...

The above are shortcomings that have been exposed to varying degrees in the years of practice in the Yangtze River Delta integration. They are also problems that must be faced and solved in the process of Chinese-style modernization. After solving the above problems, continued contribution to the economy and continued expansion of public welfare should be a natural result.

In this context, we need to re-understand "leading leadership" and look at specific tasks - such as breakthroughs in key core technology areas, such as taking the lead in cultivating new productive forces, and striving to promote higher standards in a complex external environment. Horizontal opening up, such as further breaking down institutional barriers to create an institutional model of "integration"... All of these are new challenges and new requirements for Shanghai and the entire Yangtze River Delta.

Returning to Shanghai, better playing the "leading role" in the integration of the Yangtze River Delta is undoubtedly the prerequisite for taking the lead in the process of Chinese modernization. The connotation of this "leading" light has undergone subtle and profound changes from decades, more than ten years ago, and even a few years ago.

Once upon a time, Shanghai had some "overwhelming advantages" over other regions in areas such as technology, industry, and talent. The "leader" back then was more like a supplier who continuously directly exported experience and provided opportunities. To use an analogy that many people like to use, he was like a "leading brother" who helped many places develop and become rich.

After years of development, each region now has its own talents and strengths, and it no longer looks so easy to be the “big brother” in many fields. At this time, it is precisely the time when the "leading" pattern and capabilities are put to the test. Today's "leader" is not only about helping others become stronger, but more importantly, how to let each place make full use of its strengths through effective integration, coordination, service, and leadership, and clench their fingers into a fist to form a strong alliance and a strong into a stronger situation.

It can also be said that rather than what one possesses and what one can directly create, a higher-level "leader" depends more on what one can inspire and leverage for the whole. This is not to say that oneself is unimportant. On the contrary, for a city like Shanghai, which does not have outstanding innate resource endowments, to be a "leader" in the new environment, to a large extent, it must achieve itself by driving the overall situation.

Of course, such drive and achievements are no longer simply the output of funds, technology, and services, but also depend on the depth of reform, the intensity of opening up, and the level of innovation. Can we collaborate with all parties to break through blockages and integrate resources? Can we build more powerful platforms and channels for resources to gather and flow? Can we work together in more critical and core areas - whether it is technological innovation or institutional innovation - —Being a trailblazer, empowering a wider area with the results of pioneering trials, and leveraging local areas to further leverage their advantages and improve their capabilities. This is a greater test for the "leading".

Only by becoming such a more driving "leader" can Shanghai better demonstrate its status and value in today's Yangtze River Delta and even today's China, and can it truly shoulder its extraordinary mission in the process of Chinese modernization.