The draft version of a set of regional planning guidelines for
the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) calls on the region, with Shanghai
and Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces as key drivers, to drag up the
entire country's economic growth.
The draft represents the first time that top authorities have
attempted to draw up trans-regional planning guidelines. The goal
is to meet the growing demands of a booming national economy,
rapidly changing society and the tandem development of different
regions.
The guidelines are a sort of road map for development for the
YRD. They cover 16 major cities, including Shanghai, Hangzhou and
Nanjing.
Once implemented, they are expected to set the standard for
future regional-level economic cooperation in other areas of the
country, experts said.
They added that the guidelines would be a valuable resource for
multinational companies planning to do business in the region.
Officials in Shanghai and the two neighboring provinces are
currently reviewing the guidelines and are expected to offer their
feedback.
The draft designates the delta as one of the Asia-Pacific
region's leading portals for international business. It describes
the YRD as one of the world's most crucial advanced manufacturing
bases and says it possesses a world-class city cluster.
Chen Xuanqing, a deputy director of the National Development and
Reform Commission, China's economic planning agency, said his
department had only recently completed the draft.
Under the guidelines, the YRD will be developed as an integrated
economic zone with Shanghai one of the centers of international
economics, finance, trade and logistics in China as its core. Other
cities in the region have been assigned affiliated roles.
"It's important to stress the region's role even though it has
long served as the country's economic powerhouse," said Xu Changle,
an economist with the Yangtze River Delta Development Research
Institute at the Shanghai-based East China Normal University.
Xu noted that in the past, such planning was confined to
individual provinces or cities.
"The YRD will serve as a test case, which will enlighten future
regional economic cooperation, particularly in areas like
policy-making for different industries, the division of industries
among cities, sustainable development and the construction and
management of major public utility facilities," Xu said.
To date, more than 400 of the top 500 multinational companies
have set up branches in the delta. They are attracted to the
region's steel, chemical and petrochemical production facilities,
as well as the its strong construction materials manufacturing
sector.
"Foreign investors will be able to use the guidelines to get a
better sense of their business costs, the investment environment
and the supporting policies and abilities for their industries," Xu
said.
(China Daily November 23, 2006)