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A container ship docks at Ningbo Zhoushan Port in Zhejiang province, April 1, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

Delta dawns

The central government's elevation of the integration of the Yangtze River Delta region to "national strategy" status has helped Zhejiang's development of areas such as the digital economy, infrastructure, culture and tourism.

More than 200 key projects with combined investment of more than 1 trillion yuan will be launched in the future, according to an action plan released in June.

On July 12, the provincial government listed three main tasks for this year: economic transformation and upgrading using the resources of Shanghai, and Jiangsu and Anhui provinces; greater opening-up of the province; and pushing forward with infrastructure to improve people's lives.

Che Jun, Party chief of Zhejiang, emphasized the importance of innovation in an article published in the Study Times on Aug 2, writing that the region would pursue innovation-driven development to help transform and upgrade local industries.

The G60 Science and Innovation Corridor, a high-tech manufacturing zone connecting Shanghai and eight other cities in the delta, is included in the integration plan and is intended to drive the region's technical and economic development. Initiated by Shanghai's Songjiang district, the G60 corridor takes in the cities of Hangzhou, Jiaxing, Jinhua and Huzhou in Zhejiang.

"The new technologies and innovative achievements in Shanghai are being transferred to Zhejiang, injecting new vitality into the province's high-quality development," said Nan Cunhui, chairman of the Chint Group, a leading industrial electrical equipment and new energy company based in Zhejiang.

Huang Xianhai, dean of the school of economics at Zhejiang University, said the delta region - covering less than 4 percent of China's land area - contributes one-third of the nation's foreign trade, accounting for roughly 60 percent of investment from abroad.

"There is no doubt that high-quality integrated development of the region will become a forerunner to tap a new path for China's economic development over the next 10 years," Huang said.