PR86630

BEIJING, Nov. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

With the unveiling of a blueprint for China's development in the next 15 years

(https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-11-04/China-unveils-blueprint-to-become-global-leader-in-innovation-V8ymvHioog/index.html ), different regions are gearing

up for their new roles in the country's new journey toward modernization.

Provinces and municipalities along the Yangtze River – China's longest river –

have been given important roles to foster an innovation-driven, green

development mode for the world's second-largest economy.

The blueprint – the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee's

proposals for formulating the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National

Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year

2035 – called for efforts to promote the development of the Yangtze River Economic

Belt and the integration of the Yangtze River Delta and create innovation platforms

and new growth poles in the regions.

The roles of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Yangtze River Delta in the

country's overall development are high on the agenda of Chinese President Xi

Jinping's ongoing tour in Shanghai Municipality and Jiangsu Province.

It is his first domestic inspection tour after the fifth plenary session of the 19th

CPC Central Committee (https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-10-29/19th-CPC-Central-Committee-concludes-fifth-plenary-session-UZ8ZC4kHhm/index.html ), at which the blueprint was adopted.

Read the original article: here (https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-11-13/Chinese-President-Xi-Jinping-inspects-Yangzhou-in-east-China-s-Jiangsu-VoksaXWCjK/index.html ).

Pioneer in new reform drive

Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, attended a grand

gathering in Shanghai (https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-11-12/Xi-Jinping-addresses-event-marking-30-years-of-Shanghai-s-Pudong-Vm6iNfqX3q/index.html ) to celebrate the 30th

anniversary of Pudong's development and opening-up on Thursday morning,

encouraging the district to "carry the heaviest load" and "crack the hardest

nut" in China's reform and modernization drive.

Pudong, located east of the Huangpu River in Shanghai, should strive to become

a pioneer of reform and opening-up at a higher level and a vanguard in fully

building a modern socialist country, he said in a speech.

The area should strengthen its role as an engine of innovation and make

breakthroughs in key and core technologies, he stressed.

On the other hand, efforts should be made to improve Pudong's capabilities in

global resource allocation so that it will better serve the establishment of a

new development pattern, he added.

China vows to nurture a new development pattern that takes the domestic market

as the mainstay while letting domestic and foreign markets boost each other. Xi

called on Pudong to become a hub of the domestic market and a strategic link to

the domestic and foreign markets.

The area should play a leading role in the integrated development of the

Yangtze River Delta region, he said.

Environmental protection, entrepreneurship

On Thursday afternoon, Xi visited Nantong (https://news.cgtn.com/news/2020-11-12/Xi-Jinping-inspects-Nantong-City-east-China-s-Jiangsu-Province-VmA0Vx6KeA/index.html )

in the neighboring province of Jiangsu. He first went to Binjiang, a riverside district

in Nantong, wherehe inspected local efforts in improving the overall environment along the

shoreline of the Yangtze River, as well as the enforcement of fishing ban policies.

Binjiang, bounded by mountains along the Yangtze River, is considered a "green

corridor" of Nantong. It is a significant source of water for local urban development.

Several projects to restore its ecosystem have been implemented since 2016.

Recalling his tour to the area in 1978, Xi hailed the great improvement in the

environment during these years.

"Such a happy life is built by your own hands and worked out by everyone together," he said.

Xi then went to Nantong Museum, where he watched exhibits introducing Zhang

Jian, a Chinese industrialist and educator in the late 19th century and early 20th century.

The museum, founded by Zhang in 1905, is the first public museum founded by Chinese.

Xi learned about Zhang's deeds in developing China's domestic industries,

education, and public welfare undertakings. While setting up industries, Zhang

also actively started educational and public welfare undertakings that

benefited villagers and had far-reaching influence.

Hailing Zhang as the sage and model of Chinese private entrepreneurs, Xi said

that the museum should be built into a patriotic education base to inspire more

people, especially young people.

Ecological civilization, south-to-north water diversion project

On Friday, Xi inspected Yangzhou City – the second stop of his tour in Jiangsu.

Xi visited an ecological cultural park and the Jiangdu water conservancy

project to learn about local efforts in environmental improvement as well as

cultural protection and inheritance.

"We need to do well with ecological civilization. Building ecological

civilization directly concerns the happiness of the people and bears on the

healthy growth of young people," he told locals, adding that the strengthening

of ecological civilization is a prerequisite of pushing for the high-quality

development of the Chinese society.

While visiting an ecological and cultural park in the Sanwan area, Xi learned

about environmental remediation along the Grand Canal, as well as the

protection, inheritance and use of its culture. He urged local authorities to

integrate cultural and tourist activities along with the remediation. That, he

said, would help shape the area's development and thus, better the livelihoods

for local residents.

In Jiangdu, he learned about the operations of the country's south-to-north

water diversion project as the district stands as the origin of the east route

of this mega project.

China's densely-populated northern region has long suffered from acute water

shortages, leading to groundwater overexploitation and river water diminishing.

To optimize the allocation of water resources and quench the thirsty north,

south-to-north water diversion projects, which began in 2002, have been built

to channel water from the water-rich Yangtze River basins through eastern,

middle and western routes to the dry areas in the north.

"China's water resources are richer in the south than in the north, so it must

be adjusted scientifically," Xi told local officials during his visit.

"However, people in the north shouldn't take it for granted just because we

have this measure in place."

"We need to plan urban development according to the amount of water resources.

Therefore, we should integrate the south-to-north water diversion project and

on-site water conservation and work on them both," he continued.

According to official data, the eastern route and middle route have altogether

diverted 29.4 billion cubic meters of water to arid areas in the north,

benefiting more than 120 million people as of 2019, which turned into an

industrial and agricultural boost for cities totaling almost 100 billion yuan per year.

National strategies for regional integration

Along with the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and

the building of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the development

of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the integration of the Yangtze River

Delta are important national strategies for the coordinated regional development in China.

The Yangtze River Economic Belt consists of nine provinces – Sichuan, Guizhou,

Yunnan, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi, Anhui, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang – and two

municipalities – Chongqing and Shanghai. It covers roughly one-fifth of China's

land and has a population of 600 million, generating more than 40 percent of

the country's GDP.

In 2016, China released a development plan of the economic belt that emphasized

the priority of ecological conservation and green development.

When addressing the opening ceremony of the first China International Import

Expo in Shanghai in November 2018, Xi announced that the country would support

the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region. An outline of the

strategy was issued by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council the

following year.

The outline, mapping development for a 358,000-square kilometers expanse that

encompasses Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces and Shanghai Municipality,

said the Yangtze River Delta boasts strategic significance in the country's

modernization and further opening-up, which makes its regional integration

crucial for leading the country's high-quality development and building a

modern economic system.

Included in both strategies, Shanghai and Jiangsu are among the most developed

regions in China. Shanghai tops the GDP ranking of Chinese cities, and Jiangsu

has the second-highest GDP among Chinese provinces. They are not only at the

forefront of the coordinated development along the Yangtze River but also

pioneers that explore China's future in a changing world.

Source: CGTN