At the symposium on promoting the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt held in Chongqing on January 5, 2016, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “At present and for a long time in the future, we must put the restoration of the Yangtze River’s ecological environment in an overwhelming position, and we must protect the environment. In 2018 and 2020, General Secretary Xi Jinping will host seminars on promoting the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt in Wuhan, Hubei and Nanjing, Jiangsu. developing.
Over the past six years, relevant departments and provinces along the Yangtze River have conscientiously implemented the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, promoted the improvement of the ecological environment, and promoted a comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. The ecological and environmental protection of the Yangtze River Economic Zone has undergone turning changes and historic achievements have been made in economic and social development. A new picture of continuous improvement of water, clear sky, blue earth, and harmony of landscape and city, is being drawn.
Start the battle for the protection and restoration of the Yangtze River
"The Yangtze River Economic Belt should take a new path of ecological priority and green development." General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out the direction for the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt under the new situation.
Not long ago, when the Economic Daily research team was in Yichang, Hubei, it was discovered that this city, which had been named and criticized by the Central Environmental Protection Supervision Group for its “chemical encirclement of the river”, has in recent years promoted “combined punches” such as the governance of a river and clear water system to transform and develop. Continue to accumulate kinetic energy and gradually explore a new path for high-quality development.
"Yichang Butterfly Change" is the epitome of the transformation of the development mode of cities along the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
For a long time, along the Yangtze River Economic Belt, not only the severe test of the “chemical siege”, but also illegal activities such as illegal sewage discharge and illegal sand mining, have continued to deteriorate the water quality of the Yangtze River basin, and the Yangtze River ecological alarm bell has continued to sound.
In December 2018, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment jointly issued the "Action Plan for the Protection and Restoration of the Yangtze River", which clarified eight special actions such as the remediation of inferior Class V national control sections, sewage outlets, and "three phosphorus", and solid progress Implementation of various tasks.
Starting from January 1, 2021, the 10-year ban on fishing in key waters of the Yangtze River Basin has been fully implemented, and 111,000 fishing boats and 231,000 fishermen have already retreated and landed ashore.
Monitoring from the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences shows that with the implementation of the comprehensive ban, common fish resources in the Yangtze River are recovering, and the small threatened fish populations in the ecological environment of the Yangtze River are recovering.
The water quality has improved significantly.
In the first three quarters of 2021, the proportion of good water quality in the Yangtze River Economic Zone was 90.6%, an increase of 23.6 percentage points from 2016; the proportion of water quality inferior to Grade V was 0.4%, a decrease of 6 percentage points from 2016.
Historic achievements in economic and social development
While the ecological and environmental protection of the Yangtze River Economic Belt has undergone turning changes, historical achievements have also been made in the economic and social development along the route.
As one of the industrial belts and economic belts with the most comprehensive advantages and development potential in my country, the relevant development indicators of the Yangtze River Economic Belt continue to improve.
According to statistics, the total economic output of the Yangtze River Economic Belt has increased from 45.1% in 2015 to 46.7% in the first three quarters of 2021, and its contribution to national economic growth has increased from 48.5% to 51.1%.
In addition, among the top ten cities in the country’s GDP, the seven cities of Shanghai, Chongqing, Suzhou, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Wuhan, and Nanjing are from the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The development of the "dancing dragons" in the Yangtze River Economic Belt led by Shanghai The pattern has initially taken shape.
"The green and high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt is at the forefront of the country. In addition to the continuous increase in economic aggregates, the 11 provinces and cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt have implemented pilot projects for green development demonstrations and ecological product value realization mechanisms. Experience and practices." said Meng Wei, spokesperson of the National Development and Reform Commission and deputy director of the Political Research Office.
With the formal implementation of the Yangtze River Protection Law on March 1, 2021, the Yangtze River Protection has entered a new stage of legal protection.
The linking mechanism of ecological environment administrative law enforcement, criminal justice and public interest litigation has been initially established.
The strict implementation of the negative list management system for the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and the continuous improvement of mechanisms for ecological compensation and diversified investment have provided a strong guarantee for promoting the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
Towards a more coordinated and balanced development
In September 2021, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt" and proposed that "promoting the coordinated development of urban and rural areas" is one of the important tasks for the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt in the next five years.
Luo Guosan, director of the Department of Basic Affairs of the National Development and Reform Commission, stated that it is necessary to promote the organic integration of the upper, middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, relying on urban agglomerations and metropolitan circles to promote the coordinated and coordinated development of large, medium and small cities and small towns.
Changchun, president of Jiangsu Yangtze River Economic Belt Research Institute and head of the Yangtze River Economic Belt Coordinated and Balanced Development Index Report, believes that to promote the coordinated and balanced development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, it is necessary to maintain coordinated development and balance based on the individual characteristics and independent vitality of each region. Development and common development.
On the supply side, the coordinated and balanced development of industries should be promoted, on the demand side, the coordinated and balanced development of new urbanization should be promoted, and comprehensive three-dimensional transportation corridors should be built across the river basin, and the ecological environment of the Yangtze River basin should be continuously improved.
In this process, industrial coordination and innovative development are crucial.
Experts said that on the one hand, it is necessary to improve the ability of collaborative innovation in the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain, promote the transformation of innovation from point to chain, and from part to overall, to form a joint force driving the innovation and development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt; On the basis of functions, further improve the comprehensive three-dimensional transportation network, and enhance the ability to support the smooth domestic and international double circulation.
“It is necessary to accelerate the integration and development of the “Belt and Road” and build a high-level opening to the outside world.” Yang Changyong, a researcher at the Institute of Foreign Economic Relations of the China Academy of Macroeconomics, said that the Yangtze River Delta’s leading role in opening up to the middle and upper reaches should be further enhanced. Strengthen the opening of the channel to the east, make the channel to the west more solid, enlarge the channel to the south, and make the channel open to the inland to better play the role of supporting and promoting the high-quality development of the "Belt and Road".
(Economic Daily reporter Gu Yang)