The "Iron Triangle" in Central China aims to become the fifth growth pole of China's economy.

The saying that Hunan and Hubei are like family has been passed down among the people for hundreds of years. Now, Hunan, Hubei, and Jiangxi are joining hands to form a closer "iron triangle".

At this year's Two Sessions, the "Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River" was written into the Government Work Report for the first time. Subsequently, the Outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan of the country also clearly proposed to promote the accelerated development of this region.

A series of signals indicate that after the "Four Poles" composed of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Greater Bay Area, and the Chengdu-Chongqing area, the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River is accelerating its competition to become the fifth pole of China's economy.

As a strategic hinterland connecting the east and the west, and the south and the north, the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River not only fills the gap of a national-level urban agglomeration in central China, but also supports the economic development of the central region with an economic aggregate of over 12 trillion yuan.

The plan is clear. Where should it go next?

Recently, Wuhan organized a delegation to visit Changsha and Nanchang successively. From the inspection points, high-tech innovation enterprises were the highlight of this trip. Similar to the G60 Science and Technology Innovation Corridor in the Yangtze River Delta, cross-regional collaborative innovation is exactly the path that central China wants to take.

Upgrading of Status

Looking at the layout of urban agglomerations, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the Chengdu-Chongqing area together form a diamond structure, and the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River is exactly located at the geometric center of this diamond, also known as the "Central Triangle".

Relying on this unique location, it connects the east and the west, and the south and the north. It is not only a key fulcrum for promoting the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the rise of central China, but also an important part of consolidating the "Two Horizontal and Three Vertical" urbanization strategic pattern.

However, along the Yangtze River, the integration of the Yangtze River Delta was elevated to a national strategy in 2018, and the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle joined the list in 2020. Only the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River has always lacked a clear identity.

Once elevated to a national strategy, it means more policy and resource inclination, which is expected to reshape population flow and industrial layout, and promote the optimal allocation of resources and regional coordinated development.

Therefore, for more than a decade, the state has been continuously planning the development of the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River.

In 2015, the "Development Plan for the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River" was officially issued. This is the first cross-regional urban agglomeration plan approved after the state issued the new urbanization plan, and also an important measure to implement the Yangtze River Economic Belt strategy. At that time, the positioning was more focused on the rise of the central region and the promotion of urbanization.

In the following five years, a "triangular, radial" intercity transportation network centered on Wuhan, Changsha, and Nanchang was basically completed, and the total scale of the railway network exceeded 10,000 kilometers. The industrial and innovation foundation has been continuously consolidated, and advantageous industrial clusters such as equipment manufacturing, automobiles, electronic information, and aerospace have gradually taken shape.

Data shows that in 2020, the permanent population of the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River was about 130 million, and the total GDP was about 9.4 trillion yuan, accounting for about 9.3% of the country's total.

However, despite its large scale, there are also short - boards in development. For example, the radiation and driving ability of central cities is insufficient, the development of secondary cities is relatively slow, and the inter - provincial consultation and cooperation mechanism is not yet perfect; the ability to tackle key technologies and transform achievements is not strong, and there are few industries with core competitiveness.

To solve the above - mentioned short - boards, in 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission issued the "14th Five - Year Implementation Plan for the Development of the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River". At that time, the 14th Five - Year Plan had just started, and the domestic large - scale circulation became the top priority. The core was to make resources flow across the country, break administrative barriers, and promote the real linkage of various regions.

Therefore, the plan clearly states that by 2025, substantial breakthroughs will be made in the integration of the Wuhan and Changsha - Zhuzhou - Xiangtan metropolitan areas, and the cooperation between Nanchang and surrounding cities and counties will be closer; advanced manufacturing clusters with national competitiveness will be basically formed, and a regional collaborative innovation system will be initially established.

Under the guidance of the plan, during the 14th Five - Year Plan period, the economic aggregate of the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River successively crossed the thresholds of 10 trillion, 11 trillion, and 12 trillion yuan, accounting for about 9.2% of the country's total.

Meanwhile, with the opening of the Wuhan - Yichang section of the Shanghai - Chongqing - Chengdu High - speed Railway at the end of last year, the large - loop of the Han - Xiang - Yi High - speed Railway was formed, and a 1 - hour transportation circle and economic circle with rapid interconnection was formed among the three major cities. The flow of factors such as talents, funds, and technologies became smoother.

In the new development stage, how to achieve synergy in the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, from which directions to make breakthroughs, and where to increase efficiency have become key issues.

Innovation Community

The development of an urban agglomeration cannot be separated from the driving force of "core poles". In the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, Wuhan, Changsha, and Nanchang are the three cores.

The goals of the three cities are also clear. One of Wuhan's goals by 2030 is to have a GDP exceeding 3 trillion yuan and to become a national economic center, a national scientific and technological innovation center, a national commercial and logistics center, an international exchange center, and a regional financial center.

Changsha focuses on the construction of the "Three High - grounds" (a national important advanced manufacturing high - ground, a scientific and technological innovation high - ground with core competitiveness, and an inland reform and opening - up high - ground) to consolidate and enhance its strategic position as a central city in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Nanchang clearly aims to "build a high - energy - level city with a trillion - yuan GDP".

The direction is set. How to take the path? From March 8th to 10th, the Party and Government Delegation of Wuhan successively went to Changsha and Nanchang, the two provincial capitals, for study and inspection. The answer can be seen from the selection of inspection points.

In Changsha, the enterprises that Wuhan inspected are related to hardcore science and technology innovation: the Hunan Academy of Advanced Technology is an important platform for Hunan to connect with the national strategic scientific and technological forces; Zhongdian Xinghe is the "national team" in the field of Beidou application; Zhongke Yungu is a benchmark for the empowerment of traditional manufacturing by the industrial Internet.

The goal in Nanchang is also clear. The delegation inspected the local modern needle - spinning industry undergoing transformation and upgrading, as well as emerging tracks in the fields of aviation equipment, new energy, and intelligent manufacturing.

Moreover, the government also has high expectations for the cooperation in science and technology innovation in this region.

On November 5, 2025, the Work Promotion Meeting for the Construction of the Wuhan Regional Scientific and Technological Innovation Center jointly built by the central and local governments was held in Wuhan. Yin Hejun, Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology, said at the meeting that in recent years, the strategic scientific and technological forces of the Wuhan Regional Scientific and Technological Innovation Center have been continuously strengthened, new breakthroughs have been made in tackling key core technologies, and the regional collaborative innovation has achieved results and momentum.

"We should give full play to the main role of Hubei Province, support the Wuhan Regional Scientific and Technological Innovation Center to strengthen its strategic scientific and technological forces with greater efforts and more practical measures, and improve the ability to generate original innovation; strengthen collaborative linkage and build an innovation community in the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River." Yin Hejun said.

From the deployment of ministries and commissions to the interactions within the province, it can be seen that scientific and technological innovation is the breakthrough point for the three cities to work together and the focus of the coordinated development of the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River.

In this regard, the G60 Science and Technology Innovation Corridor in the Yangtze River Delta has paved the way. This corridor is laid out along the G60 Expressway and the Shanghai - Suzhou - Huzhou High - speed Railway, connecting 9 cities (districts) such as Shanghai Songjiang, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Hefei, and constructing a "1 - hour innovation circle".

In this innovation circle, a chip design team in Shanghai can reach the wafer manufacturing base in Hefei in 2 hours to solve production problems in real - time; an artificial intelligence enterprise in Hangzhou can send an algorithm model to a smart manufacturing factory in Songjiang within 1 hour. Data shows that with only six - ten - thousandths of the global urban scale, the G60 Science and Technology Innovation Corridor contributes 3% of the global scientific and technological achievements and 3.1% of the leading enterprises, and the national - level incubators account for half of those in the Yangtze River Delta.

Now, the actions of Wuhan, Changsha, and Nanchang are exactly to replicate this "science and technology innovation enclave" model in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River.

Liu Qihong, the director of the Regional Economic Research Center of Hohai University, told a reporter from Times Weekly that currently, a 1 - hour high - speed railway transportation network has been basically completed among Wuhan, Changsha, and Nanchang. In terms of industries, Wuhan has optoelectronic information, new energy and intelligent connected vehicles; Changsha has equipment manufacturing, metal new materials, and information security; Jiangxi has advantages in rare earth materials, new energy, and electrical intelligent equipment.

"Among them, Wuhan has the potential to become a leader, but there is still a long way to go to become a real leader: its economic aggregate needs to exceed 3 trillion yuan, there is a relative shortage of local leading enterprises in the industry, and the innovation and entrepreneurship environment needs to be further improved. Although it has rich university resources, the proportion of graduates staying in Wuhan is still relatively low." Liu Qihong said.

The Dilemma of Economic Density

Not only Wuhan, but the above - mentioned problems also appear in some cities in the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River, which is called "loose - knit" and lacks synergy.

The reason may lie in the spatial scale and economic density. The straight - line distances between Wuhan, Changsha, and Nanchang are all about 300 kilometers, while the distances between Beijing and Tianjin, Shanghai and Hangzhou, and Guangzhou and Shenzhen are only 130 kilometers, 180 kilometers, and 120 kilometers respectively. A large space and long distance mean that commuting activities are restricted by physical distance, and cities are difficult to form a close linkage.

Meanwhile, the low economic density leads to relatively weak population attraction and carrying capacity, resulting in less output value.

Comparing the data of the 7th National Population Census and the end of 2024, the overall population of Hunan and Jiangxi provinces shows a downward trend, and only the provincial capitals maintain growth. Among them, Hunan has the largest decline, with a decrease of about 1.055 million people in four years. The total population of Hubei has increased by 587,000 people, and Wuhan, the provincial capital, has the most significant growth, with an increase of 1.483 million people in four years.

More importantly, the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River covers an area of about 317,000 square kilometers and has a population of about 130 million. In contrast, the Yangtze River Delta covers a total area of 358,000 square kilometers but accommodates a population of 221 million.

In terms of output, the per - capita GDP of the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River is about 124,000 yuan, which is less than half of that of the Yangtze River Delta with a similar area. This means that both the economic density and industrial synergy need to be improved.

Regarding how to solve the problem, Liu Qihong believes that overall planning is needed first, and the planning of land, industry, and ecological environment should be promoted in an integrated manner. In terms of strengthening Wuhan, he emphasizes that Wuhan should not only radiate Hubei but also truly play a leading role in driving the coordinated development of Hunan and Jiangxi provinces.

Meanwhile, the advantages of Wuhan and Changsha in the fields of science, education, and technology should be brought into play, regional monopolies should be broken, and the transportation links and industrial cooperation among the three major metropolitan areas should be strengthened, especially in the emerging and future industries to form synergy.

The reporter from Times Weekly noticed that at the regional linkage level, Hubei is jointly formulating the "15th Five - Year Implementation Plan for the Development of the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River" with Hunan and Jiangxi provinces.

Among them, three major projects will be jointly promoted: "The Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River on the Rails (promote the direct line of the Wuhan - Jiujiang High - speed Railway, the Wuhan - Anqing High - speed Railway, etc.), the Hubei - Hunan - Jiangxi on the Canals (jointly promote the inland shipping corridor of Hubei, Hunan, and Guangxi), and the Central Triangle on the Science and Technology Innovation Chain (jointly build the National High - tech Zone Alliance in Central China and strive to establish a technology innovation center in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River).

"On this basis, the integrated development of the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River should not only promote the integration of the commodity market but also the integration of the factor market, which is the key to forming synergy." Liu Qihong said.

This article is from the WeChat public account "Reading the City Studio". The author is Alimire, the editor is Liang Li, and it is published by 36Kr with authorization.