CCTV News (News Network): The Yangtze River Economic Belt is related to the overall national development. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that we must adhere to ecological priority and green development, take scientific and technological innovation as the guide, coordinate the promotion of ecological environment protection and economic and social development, and further promote the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Since the beginning of this year, the 11 provinces and cities along the Yangtze River Economic Belt have taken higher-level and more practical measures to continuously strengthen regional collaborative innovation capabilities, accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system, and strive to write a new chapter in high-quality development.
The Yangtze River is full of vitality and surging vitality.
In the upstream, Yunnan plans to afforest more than 100,000 mu of forest along the river this year to further strengthen the ecological barrier.
In the midstream, Jiangxi accelerates the implementation of green and low-carbon transformation actions, and will promote 14,000 companies to upgrade and implement transformation this year.
In the downstream, the Beiyanjiang High-speed Railway connecting Shanghai, Nanjing and Hefei is being built and is expected to be completed and opened to traffic in 2027.
Promoting the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt is a major decision made by the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has visited and investigated the Yangtze River many times, and has presided over special symposiums four times. The General Secretary pointed out that we must strengthen policy coordination and work coordination, plan for the long-term trend, take the long-term strategy, and build a foundation for long-term security, further promote the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and better support and serve Chinese-style modernization. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China made systematic arrangements for improving and implementing the regional coordinated development strategy mechanism and proposed to optimize the development mechanism of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
Along the direction guided by the General Secretary, the provinces and cities along the Yangtze River Economic Belt firmly establish the idea of "one game of chess" and form an overall synergy for high-quality development with higher levels of coordination and linkage.
Cultivate new development momentum with higher levels of scientific and technological innovation.
This year, Hubei and Anhui have focused on building high-level innovation platforms based on their own scientific research, talents and other advantages. The "China Optical Valley" located in Wuhan is accelerating the construction of pilot platforms in the fields of photochemistry, laser, etc. Anhui has introduced new measures to jointly establish a national technology innovation center in the fields of quantum communications, intelligent industrial robots, etc. In Shanghai, 12 cross-regional innovation consortiums will be launched this year to accelerate the construction of a scientific and technological innovation resource sharing platform covering 34 cities along the river.
Create new industrial advantages with higher levels of green development.
This year, the Yangtze River Economic Belt will accelerate the construction of a modern industrial system represented by intelligent equipment, new energy, electronic information, etc. In the Yangtze River Delta, the "4-hour industrial circle" can allow a new energy vehicle manufacturer to solve the supply of required parts within a 4-hour drive. While implementing energy-saving and carbon reduction transformation and upgrading projects in industries such as electricity, steel, and chemical industry, Chongqing has allocated special funds to support the development of the entire industrial chain of emerging industries such as aerospace information. Sichuan's power battery industry is accelerating its rise. In the Yibin Energy Storage Industrial Park, 57 new energy application scenarios and new energy storage projects are being built. This year, the output value of Yibin's new energy storage industry strives to reach 10 billion yuan.
Expand new space for factor flow through higher-level channel construction.
In 2024, the cargo throughput of the main port of the Yangtze River exceeded 4 billion tons for the first time, ranking first among the world's inland rivers. This year, Ningbo Zhoushan Port has opened a direct river-sea transport ship to Jingzhou, Hubei. So far, there have been 10 direct river-sea routes including Ningbo to Jiangxi, Hubei, and Hunan; Nanjing Port has opened a point-to-point foreign trade express flight with Shanghai Port, saving 20 hours on a flight, adding a water transport express channel for cargo exports inland cities along the river. A modern logistics system that connects the international community, radiates inland and serves the Yangtze River is being formed at an accelerated pace in the Yangtze River's golden waterway.
Adhere to ecological priority and green development. Today, the entire main stream of the Yangtze River has steadily reached Class II water quality. According to the plan, by 2035, the Yangtze River Economic Belt will fully build a golden economic belt with a more beautiful ecology, smoother transportation, more coordinated economy and more scientific mechanisms. All provinces and cities along the river are working hard and gathering their strength to write a new chapter in high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
