(Photo 1: Spatial distribution of China’s 19 planned city clusters)
BEIJING -- China blueprinted replication of free trade zone (FTZ) reform experience to foster development of the Yangtze River Delta city cluster, one of the country's economic powerhouses this week.
According to a statement issued after a State Council executive meeting on May 11, Chinese regulators approved the development plan on the Yangtze River Delta city cluster, just a week after the top economic planner - National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) disclosed the plan had been submitted to the State Council, China's cabinet, for approval.
In the plan, a series of measures are proposed to stimulate development of the city cluster, such as crafting new reform highland, replicating and applying FTZ and innovative demonstration zone reform experience, experimenting innovative system and mechanism, pressing ahead with integrated construction of factor markets such as the finance, land, and property transaction, and boosting cooperation between public services including education, medical care, and social security and social courses.
"Expanding coverage of the FTZ policies to the Yangtze River Delta is faster than what we have anticipated and the Yangtze River Delta city cluster is the first city cluster that introduces the FTZ reform experience," said Gao Huiqing, a researcher at the State Information Center.
Analysts attributed the Yangtze River Delta city cluster nodded to try FTZ policy to its vital geological location.
As Gao holds, the Yangtze River economic belt is the only geological belt that runs across east, central and west China and plays a critical role in linking key national economic channels and coordinated regional development. With over 40 percent national population and gross regional product, the Yangtze River economic belt boasts an above-national-average economic growth speed for many years.
Apart from these, the Yangtze River Delta city cluster is intended to vigorously attract foreign investment, enlarge services industry opening up, explore establishment of free trade port areas, and promote trade facilitation to further opening up.
For industrial development, the plan stresses strengthening innovation of key areas such as equipment manufacturing, information technology, bio-pharmacy, automobile, new materials and etc. and developing modern services industry including the finance, R&D, and logistics.
The most eye-catching point of the plan was its proposing to "develop the new economy", said Gao. New economy has a cluster effect and can facilitate completion of industry transfer of different tiers in east, central and west China. What's more, new economy can optimize resource allocation during industry transfer.
Besides, the State Council executive meeting on May 11 comes up with giving full display to Shanghai's role as a core city of the Yangtze River Delta city cluster, developing such cities as Nanjing, Hangzhou, Hefei, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou and Ningbo as the same city, building a comprehensive transportation system mainly consisting of railway, expressway and the Yangtze River Gold waterway, and boosting linking of infrastructure including information, energy, and water resources.
As a matter of fact, the Yangtze River Delta city cluster is only one member of the future city clusters in China.
China's 13th Five Year Plan (2016-2020) showed that China plans to found 19 city clusters in the five years. It targets crafting the city clusters of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Province, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta into world-level city clusters, improving opening-up and competitiveness of Shandong and others, cultivating city clusters in central and west China and enhancing city clusters in northeast China, central China, the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, Chengdu-Chongqing areas and Guanzhong Plain, and guiding development of Beibu Gulf, central Shanxi, Hohhot-Baotou-Ordos-Yulin area, central Guizhou, central Yunnan, Lanzhou-Xi'ning, zones alongside the Yellow River in Ningxia, the northern slope of Tianshan Mountains so as to form more regional growth-driving forces.
So far in 2016, China has kicked off deploying development of city clusters as written in the 13th Five Year Plan. Earlier in February and April, the State Council approved respectively development plans for the Harbin-Changchun city cluster and Chengdu-Chongqing city cluster.
Chen Xiushan, a professor of Renmin University of China, said "the Yangtze River Delta city cluster can help accumulate experience in system innovation and industrial division and provide models for other city clusters such as the Pearl River Delta and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei."
Chen pointed out that development of city clusters is good for promoting industrial upgrading, speeding people-centered new urbanization and agricultural modernization.
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