The accelerated construction of the G60 Science and Innovation Corridor was highlighted in the Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) for National Economic and Social Development, an official government document reviewed and passed at the annual session of the National People's Congress, which concluded on March 11.

The document states that the corridor is set to build on the world-advanced scientific innovation ability and industrial system over the next five years so that the Yangtze River Delta region can enhance its footing in the distribution of global resources, as well as its leading role in the economic development of the entire country.

The G60 Science and Innovation Corridor was first proposed by Shanghai's Songjiang district government in 2016. It refers to a high-tech industry zone spanning nine cities alongside either the G60 expressway or the rail line winding all the way from Shanghai to the Anhui provincial capital of Hefei.

The G60 Science and Innovation Corridor as shown on a map. [Photo/zjol.com.cn]

Situated in the Yangtze River Delta region, the nine cities are Shanghai municipality, the cities of Jiaxing, Hangzhou, Jinhua, and Huzhou in Zhejiang province, the city of Suzhou in Jiangsu province, as well as the cities of Xuancheng, Wuhu, and Hefei in Anhui province.

The past five years have seen the rapid progress in industrial economy and scientific innovation in the nine cities. To date, the zone of the nine cities accounts for a fifteenth of the national GDP, a tenth of the country's high-tech enterprises, and more than a fifth of the listed companies in the tech-focused STAR Market. Five years ago, its share in the national GDP and its national aggregate of high-tech enterprises were a sixteenth and a twelfth respectively.

The prosperous zone of nine cities is gradually becoming an engine for the integrated development of the entire Yangtze River Delta region, which encompasses Shanghai municipality, as well as the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui.

It means a golden opportunity for the further development of the corridor to be included into the national action plan, said a head official of the office for the joint conference of the G60 Science and Innovation Corridor.