On the afternoon of March 20, General Secretary Xi Jinping hosted a symposium on promoting the rise of the central region in the new era in Changsha City, Hunan Province and delivered an important speech.
This is the second time since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China that General Secretary Xi Jinping has hosted a symposium on the coordinated regional development strategy of the rise of the central region. In May 2019, the General Secretary presided over a symposium on promoting the rise of the central region in Nanchang, Jiangxi, and put forward 8 opinions on how to do a good job in the rise of the central region.
Judging from the time point, this symposium was held exactly 20 years after the strategy to promote the rise of the central region was proposed, and 5 years after the last symposium was held. 2024 is a critical year for achieving the goals and tasks of the 14th Five-Year Plan. Standing on the new journey of promoting Chinese-style modernization, the General Secretary has made new strategic arrangements for solidly promoting the rise of the central region, which is of great significance no matter from the perspective of history, present and future.
From an overall development perspective, the central region covers the six provinces of Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei, and Hunan. It connects the east to the west and connects the south to the north. It is rich in resource elements, has huge market potential, and has profound cultural heritage. In recent years, the total economic volume has It is stable at more than 21% of the country, and the population accounts for about a quarter of the country. In 2023, the total economic output of Henan, Hubei and Hunan will rank among the top ten in the country. While the eastern region accelerates modernization and plays a "leading" role, the central region accelerates its rise and supports the "backbone" of China's development map, which will provide important strategic support for high-quality development and Chinese-style modernization.
my country's important grain production base, energy raw material base, modern equipment manufacturing and high-tech industrial base and comprehensive transportation hub - this is the positioning of the central region in the overall development of our country.
At this symposium, General Secretary Xi Jinping reiterated that the central region plays a decisive role in the country and emphasized that "we must consistently implement a series of policies and measures adopted by the Party Central Committee to promote the rise of the central region"; at the same time, he pointed out that "the development of the central region has reached a new stage. "From a higher starting point" and make important strategic arrangements in response to the new situation, new tasks, new challenges and new difficulties. This not only reflects a consistent and long-lasting methodology, but also demonstrates strategic considerations that are based on reality and keep pace with the times.
(1) Actively cultivate and develop new productive forces
Since the beginning of this year, from the first collective study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee in the New Year, to the participation in group deliberations and discussions at the National Two Sessions, to the first local inspection trip after the two sessions, cultivating and developing new productive forces has been one of the focuses that General Secretary Xi Jinping has always paid attention to.
At this symposium, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that “it is necessary to lead industrial innovation with technological innovation and actively cultivate and develop new productive forces”, pointing out the direction for promoting the rise of the central region from the perspective of productivity.
After years of development, the central region has accelerated the gathering of innovative development elements and accelerated the construction of a modern industrial system. National strategic emerging industry clusters and national advanced manufacturing clusters account for 27.3% and 17.8% of the country respectively; it has rich educational and scientific research resources, talents The advantages are obvious and the conditions for industry-university-research integration and innovation are good.
Strengthen the in-depth integration of scientific and technological innovation and industrial innovation, and accelerate the development of new productive forces according to local conditions. The central region has a good foundation. On the one hand, we must cultivate and strengthen emerging industries and plan ahead to build future industries. On the other hand, we must not neglect to abandon traditional industries and insist on establishing first and then breaking down, so that traditional industries can radiate new vitality.
(2) Coordinate the promotion of deep reform and high-level opening up
At this symposium, General Secretary Xi Jinping requested that “we must coordinate the promotion of deep reforms and high-level opening-up, and continue to create a more competitive inland opening-up highland”, putting forward higher requirements for the central region to deepen reform and opening-up.
This year is another important year for comprehensively deepening reforms. Although the central region is located in the hinterland, it is rich in factor resources and has huge market potential. Whether it is deepening the construction of a unified national market, promoting the rational flow and optimal allocation of various productivity factors across regions, or steadily expanding institutional opening up, and deeply integrating into the joint construction of the "Belt and Road", the central region plays an indispensable role.
Coordinating the promotion of deep reform and high-level opening up, and accelerating the transformation of the central region's location advantages, resource advantages, market advantages, and cultural advantages into advantages for the accelerated rise of the central region will create a strong engine for high-quality development across the country.
(3) Adhere to the mutual promotion of high-quality development and high-level security
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that we must adhere to the mutual promotion of high-quality development and high-level security, and strive to improve our ability to ensure the security of food, energy and resources.
The total grain output in the central region has stabilized at around 400 billion kilograms, accounting for about 30% of the country; in 2023, the raw coal output in the central region will account for about one-third of the country.
Food security and energy security are what General Secretary Xi Jinping considers to be “the most important thing in the country.” During his recent inspection in Hunan, General Secretary Xi Jinping walked into 10,000 acres of farmland to learn about the preparations for spring plowing. At this symposium, the General Secretary put forward specific requirements for ensuring the stable and safe supply of important agricultural products such as grain, further improving the development and utilization of coal, rare earth and other resources, focusing on the multi-energy complementation and deep integration of traditional energy and new energy, and put forward specific requirements for the central region in We have made important arrangements to better safeguard the bottom line of safety in the overall development of our country.
Green development is the essence of high-quality development.
At the symposium five years ago, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed building a beautiful central region with green development. At this symposium, the General Secretary emphasized the need to coordinately promote ecological environmental protection and green and low-carbon development. The word "synergy" highlights the profound understanding of the dialectical and unified relationship between ecological protection and economic development.
The six provinces in central China are located along the Yellow River and Yangtze River respectively, and have great responsibilities for ecological protection. To promote the rise of the central region, we must not only persist in protecting the ecological environment, but also further tap the huge development potential contained in the green and low-carbon transformation, and promote the high-quality development of the central region to a new level in the positive interaction between development and protection.
(4) Promote the rise of the central region while supporting the construction of a new development pattern
At this symposium, the General Secretary emphasized the need to strengthen the connection with other major development strategies; at the same time, he required the central region to "form a synergy to promote high-quality development."
The central region connects to the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei to the north, integrates into the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta to the east, and connects to the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area to the south. It is also at the center of the "river strategy" of the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin. key midstream zone. Through in-depth docking and integration with other major development strategies, it can not only better attract industrial innovation resources in developed regions, but also enhance the radiation and drive to underdeveloped regions, orderly undertake the gradient transfer of industries, and better integrate into and support the new development pattern.
At the same time, there is huge space for internal cooperation in the six central provinces, and there is still room for improvement in urbanization. Unleashing potential in the integrated development of urban and rural areas and promoting greater cooperation within the region will enhance the overall strength and competitiveness of the central region.
Since last year, from deepening the coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and promoting the comprehensive revitalization of Northeast China in the new era, to further promoting the high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and deepening the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, the General Secretary has focused on regional development strategies and held a number of special symposiums , and made a series of new strategic deployments, further demonstrating the general secretary's systematic view and long-term considerations of focusing on the national "game of chess" and strengthening the integration and integration of regional development strategies.
Planning: Huo Xiaoguang, Chen Jun
Producers: Zhang Xudong, Zhang Xiaosong, Ju Peng
Main writers: An Bei, Liu Fangzhou
Coordinator: Liu Zheng, Wang Xuan, Yuan Ruting, Zhu Jichai
Vision｜Editors: Tang Xing, Wang Qiuyun
Jointly produced by Xinhua News Agency and Hunan Branch
Produced by Xinhua News Agency First Studio