President Xi Jinping elaborated on the national strategy of developing the Yangtze River Economic Belt as part of efforts to achieve national rejuvenation in his April 26 speech in Wuhan, capital of central China’s Hubei Province. Xi analyzed the problems and challenges facing the development of this area. He stressed that it must avoid overexploitation, develop in a well-protected environment and never cross the ecological red line.
Confronting challenges
The Yangtze River Economic Belt is a typical basin economy that involves waterways, roads, ports, riverbanks, industries, cities, biology, wetlands and the environment. Its population and GDP both account for 40 percent of the country’s total. The belt passes through 11 provinces and municipalities, with hundreds of big, medium and small cities, linking China’s north, south, west and east. In the…
