The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top economic planner, gave the go-ahead to the Nanjing Metropolitan Area planning on February 8. As China's top legislature and political advisory body held their annual sessions in Beijing, Xinhua Daily and Anhui Daily have cooperated to invite delegates at the two sessions from Jiangsu and Anhui provinces to share their ideas of the development initiative.
Liu Yi'an, a member of the CPPCC National Committee and also chairman of the CPPCC Nanjing Committee, said cities in the area enjoy historical connection, geographical proximity, cultural affinity and close economic ties, which help lay a solid foundation for adopting integrated development. The two provinces have also attached great importance to the forming of the Nanjing-based city cluster, and after more than 20 years of development, the hub is the best prepared place for launching cross-provincial coordinated development.
Liu called for 4-pronged efforts to grasp the important development opportunity and strive to build it into a modern metropolitan hub of national importance. First, efforts should be made to promote the construction of the Shanghai-Nanjing-Hefei innovation belt and give full play to the advantages of science and innovation, industry and openness for new growth. Second, it’s necessary to bring into life the one-hour commuting circle. Third, the two province’s pilot FTZ areas in Nanjing and Wuhu should align their development strategies, especially in fields of energy, high-end equipment manufacturing, finance and trade, in order to allocate resources more efficiently. Fourth, the two provinces can create a demonstration area for the integrated development first in adjacent places.
NPC deputy Kong Xiaohong, mayor of Xuancheng City, said the Nanjing metropolitan area will effectively connect the central and eastern regions, accelerate the rise of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and support the country’s "dual circulation" development paradigm, in which domestic and overseas markets reinforce each other, with the domestic market as the mainstay.
The only city in Anhui that borders with Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, Xuancheng is expected to rise as a regional hub as its transport network is undergoing a massive update. Many high-speed railways and expressways have opened in the region. Renovation of waterways and building of the Wuhu Xuanzhou Airport will further help it realize the development goal.
In addition to the interconnection of infrastructure, Kong said that there are still other problems to be addressed to build the Nanjing metropolitan area, such as industrial and institutional arrangements to coordinate at the city and provincial levels.
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