Aerial photo shows a cargo ship berthing at the International Container Terminal of Hefei Port in Hefei, East China's Anhui province. [Photo/Xinhua]
China issued a guideline to promote high-quality development in the country's central region will help promote more balanced development, and inject strong impetus into the new “dual-circulation” development pattern in the long run.
The guideline, jointly released by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council, detailed measures to promote the region’s economic growth, scientific and technological innovation, urbanization, green development, opening-up, and people's well-being in the new era.
China's central region includes the provinces of Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei and Hunan, covering about 10 percent of the country's land area.
1. Development Objectives
By 2025, the comprehensive strength and competitiveness of the region should be further enhanced, and marked progress should be achieved in innovation capacity, with its proportion of research and development input in the regional GDP reaching the national average, says the guideline. The region's urbanization rate should be increased by more than 1 percentage point annually, and the balanced development between urban and rural areas should be further strengthened, according to the document.
By 2035, the region should put in place a modern economic system. Industries should have advanced, the coordinated development of urban and rural areas should reach a relatively high level, eco-friendly production and ways of life should have formed and an open economic system and mechanism have improved, and the region should accomplish socialist modernization and make substantial headway in common prosperity.
2. Build a Modern Industrial System Supported by Advanced Manufacturing
Regarding promoting advanced manufacturing, the guideline urges the building of industrial clusters (bases) focused on sectors including intelligent manufacturing, new materials, new-energy vehicles, and electronic information. Efforts should also be made to facilitate the major technological transformation and upgrading of the manufacturing sector, attaching importance to fostering the intelligent, green, service-oriented development of traditional sectors such as the food and light textile in Henan, coal in Shanxi, non-ferrous in Jiangxi, metallurgical in Hunan, chemical and construction in Hubei, steel and non-ferrous industries in Anhui, according to the document. To speed up the construction of comprehensive reform experimental zone of the national resource-based economy in Shanxi and conduct reform pilot programs to work out energy revolution.
The region should actively undertake the transfer of manufacturing and new industries, including promoting the construction of demonstration area for industrial transfer in Wanjiang River City Belt, the triangle area of Shanxi-Shaanxi-Henan-Yellow River, Jingzhou in Hubei, the southern part of Jiangxi and Hunan, the western part of Hunan, and the industrial transfer-taken cluster in the northern part of Anhui. To innovate the operation mode of industrial parks and support the construction of industrial transfer cooperation with other regions. It is also necessary to build a service platform for industrial transfer, strengthen the information communication and regional industrial cooperation, promote the targeted industrial transfer. The central government will earmark investment in its budget to support the infrastructure construction of industrial transfer cooperation parks. On the premise of continuing to use land economically and intensively, to increase the buildable land indicators for the manufacturing transfer projects. Innovating the benefit-sharing mechanism of trans-regional manufacturing while establishing an economic statistics sharing system.
The guideline emphasizes the importance of independent innovation ability in key fields. To integrate into the new round of technological and industrial revolution, enhance the ability of independent innovation, lead industry development with scientific and technological innovation, fill the gap with the eastern region in advanced technology, accelerate the application of digital, networked, and artificial intelligence technology in many fields. Speeding up the construction of the national scientific center in Hefei, exploring the operation mode of national laboratories, promoting the integrated development of major technologic infrastructure, carrying out research on key generic technologies and cutting-edge frontier technologies. To select qualified cities such as Wuhan to layout a number of major scientific infrastructure, including building a series of national manufacturing innovation centers in Wuhan, Zhuzhou, Luoyang, etc., cultivate a new batch of industrial innovation centers and manufacturing innovation centers. Supporting the construction of innovative business incubators and demonstration bases, encouraging the development of venture capital. Enterprises should play the main role in technological innovation, support the leading enterprises to form innovation consortia, and drive innovative activities for small and medium-sized enterprises. To facilitate collaborative innovation by firms, universities, and research institutes, layout and build a batch of intermediate test bases. To protect the intellectual property, encourage more original technology innovation, establish a central region technology trading market alliance based on current national and provincial technology transfer center and intellectual property trading center, with the purpose to promote the interconnection of technology trading markets. Reforming the mechanisms for applying scientific and technological achievements, and supporting the qualified areas to create national demonstration zones for scientific and technological achievement transfer and transformation.
Promoting the deep integration of advanced manufacturing and the modern service industry. To build some industrial design centers and internet platforms relying on industry cluster (base), promote Big Data, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, and other new information technology in the field of manufacturing application innovation, vigorously develop the modern service industry including research and design, financial service, inspection, and testing, etc. Active developing service-oriented manufacturing to create new advantages in the digital economy. To strengthen the construction of new infrastructure to develop the new generation of information networks to expand the application of 5G communication. New forms such as e-commerce and online shopping should be developed, online and offline integration of life services should be promoted. The guideline also underscores accelerating the construction of national logistics hubs in Zhengzhou, Changsha, Taiyuan, Yichang, and Ganzhou, increasing the listed products of the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, and promoting the construction of experimental zone for financial reform and innovation of Ganjiang New District in Jiangxi.
3. Enhance the Collaboration of the Urban and Rural Regions in Development
The central region should become integrated into major regional strategies, the guideline said, stressing the promotion, integration, and complement with other regions. To support Anhui province to take an active part in the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region, Henan and Shanxi province to deeply participate in the implementation of Yellow River Basin ecological protection and high-quality development strategy, Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi province to play a greater role in the construction of Yangtze River Economic Belt.
The central region should encourage the integrated development of the urban and rural regions, strengthening the cooperation among cities of the urban clusters along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and in the Central Plains. To support Wuhan, Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan, Zhengzhou, Heifei city to form metropolitan circles, and to foster the development of the Nanchang metropolitan circle. To accelerate the construction of the national central cities of Wuhan and Zhengzhou, to strengthen the influence of regional cities such as Changsha, Hefei, Nanchang, and Taiyuan. To promote the county’s urbanization within the county’s region. To develop some characteristic small towns and make up for the shortcomings of infrastructure and public services in counties and small towns. To promote a series of major water conservancy projects and upgrade the water conservancy facilities in villages.
Aims efforts on urban quality promotion, the guideline urges the region to implement urban regeneration actions, promote urban ecological restoration and functional improvement projects, optimize urban layouts, improve the system and network construction of the urban infrastructure, and promote the construction of new digital-based infrastructure. To build more sponge cities, and enhance the capacity of flood prevention and control within cities. To establish the waste management system and carry out actions to solve the public service issues in urban residential communities. To strengthen the management of architecture design, and enhance the characteristic style of different cities in the new era.
Efforts should also be made to advance agricultural and rural modernization, with major grain producers such as Henan province being supported to build core areas for grain production. To promote "high-standard farmland" for large mechanical farming and support the development of highly efficient dryland farming. To build a batch of production, processing, and supply bases for green agricultural products, and ramp up construction of agricultural industry park for demonstration. Moreover, to speed up the improvement of the public infrastructure of the rural area such as treatments for household waste and sewage. And to build the rural area more beautiful with better living conditions.
Furthermore, inter-provincial collaboration and integrated development of provincial border areas should be encouraged, and the provincial collaborative mechanism should also be established in the region. Revitalization and development policies for the old revolutionary base areas should be applied to strengthen the tourism and economic collaboration among areas such as the Dabie Mountain and Wuling Mountain, etc. To advance the integrated development within the major river basin, highlighting the development of cities along the Xiangjiang River, Ganjiang River, Fenhe River, and the Yangtze River.
Reference:
<http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/2021-07/22/content_5626642.htm>
<http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-07/22/c_1310078374.htm>
Edited and translated by Guo Xinxin
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