The Dream Town Internet Village in Yuhang district, Hangzhou, Zhejiang province [Photo/zj.zjol.com]

Hangzhou in Zhejiang province has made remarkable progress in promoting the integration of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region, according to a news conference held by local authorities on Dec 19.

Lead the development of the Hangzhou metropolitan area

Hangzhou has been leading the development of the Hangzhou Metropolitan area, which includes the cities of Hangzhou, Huzhou, Jiaxing, Shaoxing, and Quzhou in Zhejiang province, as well as Huangshan in Anhui province.

"The 'one-hour' commuting circle with Hangzhou at the center has been formed," said a local official.

The Guideline on Yangtze River Delta Integration was launched earlier this month, which states that Shanghai is an international metropolis, while Hangzhou, Nanjing, and Hefei are central cities.

Hangzhou has been accelerating key railway projects to enhance transportation in the region, such as the Shanghai-Hangzhou Intercity Railway. More than 10 projects worth over 20 billion yuan (2.86 billion) were under negotiation and are expected to be developed in Tonglu county.

According to the 10th joint conference for mayors in the Hangzhou metropolitan area held on Nov 27 in Huzhou, the six involved cities will be developed into globally competitive modern metropolises.

Deepen inter-provincial cooperation

This year, Hangzhou cooperated with Hefei to build an innovation belt. The two also agreed to build a branch of Hangzhou's Dream Town Internet Village in Hefei.

"Hefei's strong basic research capacity can be integrated with Hangzhou's entrepreneurship and innovation to better incubate a project from R&D to industrial application," said a local official.

According to the agreement, Hangzhou's Yuhang district will support the branch in terms of funding, infrastructure, and incentives.

Take advantage of Shanghai's spillover effects

Earlier this month, Hangzhou's Xiaoshan Science and Technology Town established a research platform in Shanghai's Zhangjiang Hi-tech Park to take advantage of the latter's spillover effects in pharmaceutical development to develop its life sciences industry.

The Dream Town Shanghai-Hangzhou Innovation Center was launched on Nov 4 to develop projects in artificial intelligence, 5G, smart manufacturing, and other cutting-edge areas.

Hangzhou has also been promoting reform and innovation in the financial sector in recent years. The Hangzhou-based Ant Financial Services Group can now offer payment services for 27 currencies in more than 200 countries and regions.

The city will next facilitate cooperation between its financial centers and those in Shanghai to enhance financial services in the YRD region.