The four provincial-level regions in the Yangtze River Delta will join hands to strengthen the water quality protection in the Taihu Lake, China’s third largest freshwater lake under the framework of the green and integrated development of the delta region as a national strategy.
9 large investment projects were launched at a symposium held Wednesday morning in Wuxi city, Jiangsu province.
Provincial-level leaders from Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui attended the symposium.
Li Qiang, Secretary of the Shanghai Municipal Party Committee, announced the start of the major investment projects for the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta. Lou Qinjian, Secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee, delivered a speech. Wu Zhenglong, Governor of Jiangsu, presided over the symposium.
Lou Qinjian said that Taihu Lake is a shining pearl in the Yangtze River Delta. General Secretary Xi Jinping once praised Taihu Lake by citing the Jiangsu folk song "The Beauty of Taihu Lake", he added.
Lou said in recent years, Jiangsu has adhered to the Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era, implemented the Xi Jinping Thought on ecological civilization, and adopted coordinated measures to promote the dredging of Taihu Lake and comprehensive water environment management so that progress has been made in the continuous improvement of water quality and ecological improvement in the Taihu Lake Basin.
The Secretary of the Jiangsu Provincial Party Committee said that the launch of the projects to improve the water environment of Taihu Lake will surely promote the restoration and upgrading of the ecosystem in the Taihu Lake Basin, consolidate the foundation for green development in the Yangtze River Delta, and inject vitality into the higher-quality and integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta.
Lou Qinjian said that General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech delivered in Hefei last year when presiding over a symposium on solidly promoting the integration of the Yangtze River Delta pointed out the direction and provided a major opportunity for the promotion of the integration of the Yangtze River Delta in the new development stage.
He hoped that the four provincial-level regions in the delta region will make joint efforts to promote the development of world-class metropolitan areas and make greater contribution to the country’s overall development.
The 9 large investment projects will tackle the ecological environment repair and improvement in the trans-provincial rivers around the Taihu Lake. 13.44 billion yuan will be injected into the projects.
The Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, released in December 2019 a new development plan to build the Yangtze River Delta into an economic powerhouse that will add to the country's high-quality development and create a strong and active economic growth nucleus and a gateway for further opening up the economy.
Under the new plan, substantial progress will be made in boosting the integrated development of the delta region by 2025, including fostering a number of world-class industrial clusters and becoming a key national innovation hub. By 2035, the area would become the most influential and dynamic growth pole of the economy.
The delta region encompasses Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui, covering around 358,000 square kilometers and generating about one-quarter of the country's GDP.
Under the new plan, Shanghai can better play up its functions in international economy, finance, trade, shipping and scientific innovation, as well as forge a powerful brand in services, manufacturing, shopping and culture.
As the delta region develops, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui are set to become an internationally competitive, advanced manufacturing base, a leading player in the digital economy and an important source of innovation and emerging industries, according to the plan.
