Jiangsu government held a press conference on April 1 to introduce the province’s action plan under the overall guideline of the integrated regional development of the Yangtze River Delta, released by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council in last year.

As one of China's most economically active, open and innovative regions, the Yangtze River Delta encompasses Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, Anhui Province and Shanghai Municipality, and boasts strategic significance in the country's modernization and further opening-up.

According to the action plan, Jiangsu will strengthen coordination with other regions to ensure victory in combating the COVID-19 outbreak and bolstering economic and social development.

Since the outbreak of the epidemic this year, Jiangsu has worked closely with Shanghai, Zhejiang and Anhui, given full play to the advantages of integrated development drive, and coordinated efforts in the public health crisis responses with a number of initiatives rolled out, said Xu Guanghui, deputy director of the Jiangsu Development and Reform Commission.

To contain the COVID-19 epidemic, the region has introduced a joint response mechanism covered seven areas such as sharing information about confirmed COVID-19 cases and close contacts, mutual recognition of certificate about a person’s quarantine status, and assistance in terms of the use of important medical supplies. To help enterprises resume work and production, five new measures were later introduced across the region including the universal health code and coordination to get the industry chain back to work. Such a holistic approach in the region has proved to be an important guarantee for both the COVID-19 control and economic and social development.

In the next step, Xu said Jiangsu will be committed to the integrated development, put into practice supportive measures on the ground, and play a more active role in turning the development strategy into a reality.

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