China rolls out blueprint for Yangtze ‘global city-cluster’
26 cities are home to 11 per cent of China’s population and accounted for 18.5pc of its GDP in 2014
China’s state planner released a blueprint on Friday for developing the Yangtze River Delta cities into a “globally influential” cluster of metropolises by 2030.
The blueprint also includes for the first time cities in Anhui province in the delta’s development, along with Shanghai and other big cities in Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces.
Better transport will connect Shanghai and its neighbouring cities, making coordinated development within the region much easier
The blueprint includes Shanghai, nine cities from Jiangsu (Nanjing, Wuxi, Changzhou, Suzhou, Nantong, Yancheng, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang and Taizhou), eight cities from Zhejiang, (Hangzhou, Ningbo, Jiaxing, Huzhou, Shaoxing, Jinhua, Zhoushan and Taizhou) and eight cities in Anhui (Hefei, Wuhu, Maanshan, Tongling, Anqing, Chuzhou, Chizhou and Xuancheng).
The cities are home to 11 per cent of the national population, covering 211,700 square kilometres or 2.2 per cent of the nation’s land. They contributed 18.5 per cent of gross domestic product in 2014. By 2020, the group is forecast to contribute 21 per cent of GDP and embrace 11.8 per cent the population.
The blueprint, issued by the National Development and Reform Commission and housing ministry, aims to raise economic vitality and innovation, and to make more efficient use of resources to attract more high-end professionals.
