China’s eastern and southern economic powerhouses vie for innovation leadership



China’s most powerful economic regions – the Yangtze River Delta and the Greater Bay Area – are racing to meet President Xi Jinping’s call for breakthroughs in core technologies including artificial intelligence, as Beijing maps out priorities for the coming 15th five-year plan during the “two sessions”.

As part of the annual meeting on Friday, provincial and municipal leaders of Zhejiang province outlined an ambitious strategy to become a key area of AI development and cement the province’s innovation role within the Yangtze River Delta, while Shanghai’s mayor also vowed to help make the delta region into a “global technology powerhouse”.

On the same day, officials from the southern province of Guangdong – home to the nine mainland cities that, together with Hong Kong and Macau, make up the Greater Bay Area – vowed to accelerate technological and industrial innovation to reinforce that region’s position as one of China’s most advanced manufacturing bases.

On Thursday, Xi told deputies from Jiangsu province that China’s major provincial economies should take the lead in technological innovation and strengthen their resilience to external shocks over the next five years.

Zhejiang province, part of the megalopolis comprising Shanghai and part of surrounding provinces Jiangsu and Anhui, promised closer integration with other parts of the delta as it sought to “seize the major strategic opportunity” to co-build an international innovation base.

The delta area makes up only 4 per cent of the country’s land area but accounts for about a quarter of its gross domestic product (GDP).
  • Related Posts

    China’s securities regulator vows tougher oversight to shore up stock-market confidence

    China’s top securities regulator outlined a plan on Friday to strengthen corporate governance, boost investor returns and cultivate globally competitive companies, as Beijing seeks to reinforce confidence in the country’s…

    Continue reading
    China to pursue commercial health insurance to ease public strain, support drug innovation

    China has for the first time included commercial health insurance in its 2026 government work report, signalling efforts to strengthen the country’s social safety net and support the growth of…

    Continue reading

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *