The Yangtze River Delta Takes a Bold Step Forward in Regional Market Integration - 2025-03-11
Since the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta was upgraded to a national strategy in 2018, significant progress has been made in linking markets across the region. Key achievements include high-standard connectivity of market infrastructure, enhanced policy transparency, and the integration of factor and resource markets. Today, the focus is shifting from basic “infrastructure connectivity” to the deeper stage of “unified systems and rules” and the “co-construction of an innovation ecosystem,” accelerating the region’s integration even further.
1.Policy coordination and institutional innovation are rapidly advancing from the design phase to active implementation
Since the Yangtze River Delta’s integrated development became a national strategy in 2018, the region’s three provinces and one municipality have collaboratively rolled out the Three-Year Action Plan for the Integrated Development of the Yangtze River Delta Region along with other key documents, to establish a multi-layered policy coordination mechanism. The creation of the Yangtze River Delta Regional Cooperation Office, alongside a regular joint meeting system, has fostered cross-provincial policy alignment. Additionally, the introduction of one-stop online government services has streamlined cross-regional processes like enterprise registration and tax handling, further optimizing the regional business environment. By the end of 2024, the top-level design framework for policy coordination and institutional innovation, developed jointly by the region’s three provinces and one municipality, continued to evolve, with tangible results accelerating into the implementation phase. Over 170 high-frequency one-stop online government services and applications have been rolled out regionally. The integrated demonstration zone has already achieved 52 institutional innovations, set for nationwide replication, and the high-quality development regulations for the zone have become the first-ever comprehensive, cross-provincial legislation since the Legislation Law was enacted.
2.The integrated development has been elevated and advanced to new areas, including factor markets and industrial coordination
After years of effort, the Yangtze River Delta’s regional market integration is rapidly evolving from the initial stage of infrastructure connectivity to more advanced areas, such as the unified opening-up of factor markets, industrial collaboration, and the co-construction of innovation networks. In terms of sharing scientific and technological resources, the Yangtze River Delta region is accelerating joint research initiatives and has established the first batch of 12 innovation consortia. The Yangtze River Delta’s science and technology resource-sharing platform now houses over 46,000 major scientific instruments, further strengthening cross-regional collaboration in technological and industrial innovation. Regarding financial collaboration, the Shanghai International Financial Center has linked financial resources with Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui provinces to create the Yangtze River Delta Integrated Development Investment Fund, exploring cross-regional credit and insurance cooperation. In industrial collaboration, the Yangtze River Delta region is moving away from a previously homogeneous development model, fostering deeper cross-regional division of labor in key industrial chains. This has led to the rational layout of industries like automobiles, electronic information, and biopharma across the region. Tesla Gigafactory Shanghai, for example, is driving the coordinated, high-quality development of related upstream and downstream enterprises within the Yangtze River Delta’s automotive industry chain.
3.The focus of integrated development has shifted from domestic market expansion to the coordinated advancement of global openness
Amid the accelerated formation of China’s new “dual circulation” development paradigm, the Yangtze River Delta is leveraging its strengths in market integration and institutional innovation to advance regional market unification and fulfill its new role in the country’s high-level opening-up. On May 10, 2021, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui jointly established the Yangtze River Delta Pilot Free Trade Zone Alliance. Since its inception, the alliance has enhanced 10 key service functions, including trade and investment facilitation, financial innovation, and cross-border R&D, while deepening coordinated development among the pilot free trade zones in Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui. Furthermore, by capitalizing on major platforms such as the China International Import Expo and the World Internet Conference, the three provinces and one municipality are strategically building a global hub for resource allocation.
Looking ahead, the Yangtze River Delta will seize the opportunity of building a “national unified market” to further dismantle administrative barriers, accelerate its transformation into an Asia-Pacific gateway for global resource allocation, and provide strategic support for domestic and international dual circulation.
The author is Zhang Bochao, Associate Researcher, Institute of Economics, Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences
Application Status
| 04-16 | 21315227 | Processing |
| 03-12 | 21315226 | Processing |
| 09-26 | 21315225 | Processing |
Inquiry Status
| 02-29 | 02131558 | Received |
| 03-06 | 02131557 | Received |
| 11-14 | 02131556 | Received |
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