The Yangtze River Delta region is spearheading ambitious initiatives to bolster high-quality development through enhanced regional collaboration and technological innovation, according to expert analyses presented at a recent think tank summit.
Academic institutions across the region have identified critical pathways for advancement during the 15th Five-Year Plan period (2026-2030). The Changjiang Institute of Industrial Economics at Nanjing University emphasized the necessity of deepening integration between advanced manufacturing and producer services while accelerating artificial intelligence implementation.
Research from Anhui University’s Free Trade Zone Institute recommends strengthening regional digital infrastructure connectivity, promoting cross-city innovation resource sharing, and expanding green technology applications. Despite the YRD’s technology-driven entrepreneurship capabilities exceeding national averages, Shanghai Tech University experts noted that regional coordination, government-guided fund effectiveness, and comprehensive financial systems require further reinforcement.
A significant transformation is underway as AI evolves from tool-based technology to systemic production factor, particularly evident in the YRD’s industrial upgrading process. However, East China Normal University researchers identified emerging challenges regarding skill and talent supply mismatches resulting from this technological shift.
Professor Xu Wenwei from Fudan Development Institute highlighted the region’s substantial shortage of digital and AI talents, with educational institutions facing constraints in curriculum systems, faculty resources, and computing capacity. Proposed solutions include establishing joint laboratories and industrial technology research institutes, implementing a regional ‘one-card’ system to facilitate talent mobility, and creating special funds to enhance industry-academia integration.
Zhang Zhongwei, Deputy Director of Shanghai Municipal Development and Reform Commission, advocated for cross-regional legislation to improve governance system stability and create institutional advantages. Meanwhile, Shen Yufeng, Lead Partner of Strategy& China with PwC, urged the region to capitalize on three major trends: accelerated domestic substitution, proactive corporate overseas expansion, and rapid localization of foreign investment through industrial collaboration, innovation scenarios, and international resource linkage capabilities.