Maximizing Overlapping Advantages for Sustainable Development in China

In the dynamic landscape of modern China, development advantages are rooted in historical contexts that evolve with changing circumstances. This complexity results in a rich tapestry of overlapping strategies across various regions, particularly during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025). A central focus of this plan is to optimize these overlapping benefits to drive high-quality development.

At the heart of this initiative is the goal set forth by the Central Economic Work Conference to fully exploit synergies among coordinated regional strategies, major regional initiatives, and functional zoning strategies, thereby nurturing new growth poles across the nation. The question lingering in the minds of policymakers and local authorities is how to effectively transform these overlapping strategic benefits into a sustainable and robust development momentum.

Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China, emphasized the need for provinces and cities along the Yangtze River to identify their distinctive strengths while fostering interconnectivity and collaboration. This statement highlights the dialectical nature of development, where individual strengths contribute to a collective advancement.

Take, for instance, Anhui Province, which has shed its former label of being