Reject "scattered development", the "growth pole" in central China is here.

On April 2nd, the development and reform commissions of Jiangxi, Hubei, and Hunan provinces gathered in Wuhan to discuss the coordinated development of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. They decided to focus on strategic coordination, joint scientific and technological development, industrial chain integration, infrastructure co - construction, ecological co - protection, cultural and tourism integration, win - win opening - up, and people's livelihood sharing. They plan to implement a number of major cross - regional cooperation projects to further promote the coordinated development of the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and jointly build a national high - quality development growth pole.

Among them, joint scientific and technological development is placed in a prominent position. To enhance the regional innovation source - generating capacity, the three provinces will jointly build a high - level laboratory system, scientific and technological innovation platforms, and clusters of major scientific and technological infrastructure. They will jointly tackle key core technologies and promote the transformation of scientific research achievements. Key measures include: accelerating the construction of the Wuhan East Lake, Changsha - Zhuzhou - Xiangtan, and Poyang Lake National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zones, and promoting innovation cooperation among Wuhan, Yueyang, Changsha, Nanchang, and Jiujiang; actively supporting the projects of the Deep Geotechnical Engineering Disturbance Simulation, Chinese Medicinal Material Germplasm, Agricultural Microorganisms, and Hanjiang Laboratory to apply for national major scientific and technological infrastructure; promoting universities, research institutions, and enterprises in the three provinces to jointly undertake national major scientific and technological projects and jointly compile innovation maps of industrial chains; exploring and promoting the cross - investment of government - guided science and technology innovation funds within the three provinces and encouraging the mutual establishment of venture capital funds.

The 2026 Government Work Report pointed out that it is necessary to continuously expand domestic demand, optimize supply, and promote the in - depth construction of a unified national market. From the perspective of the regional pattern, surrounded by the four major urban agglomerations of Beijing - Tianjin - Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong - Hong Kong - Macao Greater Bay Area, and Chengdu - Chongqing, the importance of the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, as a strategic hinterland connecting the east and the west and the south and the north, is becoming more and more prominent.

In fact, the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River started very early. In 2015, the State Council officially approved the "Development Plan for the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River". As the first cross - regional urban agglomeration plan approved by the state after the "National New - type Urbanization Plan (2014 - 2020)", it was once a strong candidate for the "fourth growth pole".

In the above - mentioned "Development Plan", the first "challenge" faced by the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is mentioned: "The integrated development mechanism of the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River needs to be improved, and the radiation - driving ability of the central cities is not strong." In 2022, the "14th Five - Year Implementation Plan for the Development of the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River" was issued, and the problem of "the imperfect inter - provincial consultation and cooperation mechanism and the low level of integrated development" was put on the table again.

As the largest urban agglomeration in China in terms of area, the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River spans Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi provinces, covering an area of up to 326,000 square kilometers, including 31 cities, with a permanent population of over 130 million. During the "14th Five - Year Plan" period, its economic aggregate exceeded 12 trillion yuan, accounting for 9.2% of the national economic aggregate.

However, the vast area has also led to a situation where the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River operates independently. Some experts analyzed that Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi provinces are not subordinate to each other. Without continuous promotion of national strategies, cooperation mainly relies on local - level coordination, and the intensity of cross - provincial integration is limited. There is also obvious homogeneous competition in the industrial structure, lacking clear industrial chain division of labor, with more competition than complementarity.

The 2026 Government Work Report for the first time pointed out that it is necessary to promote the accelerated development of the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. This statement also appears in the "15th Five - Year Plan" outline released later. Recently, the cooperation among the three regions has become more frequent. In early March, the Party and government delegation of Wuhan City successively went to Changsha and Nanchang, the capital cities of Hunan and Jiangxi provinces, for study and inspection. At the end of March, the cultural and tourism alliance of the capital cities of the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River was officially established.

To jointly build a high - quality development growth pole, the development and reform commissions of Jiangxi, Hubei, and Hunan provinces have joined hands again. According to the agreement, the three provinces will highlight cooperation in key areas, drive comprehensive provincial cooperation with linkages in science and technology, industry, transportation, ecology, culture and tourism, opening - up, and people's livelihood as the focus, and plan major projects and matters with cross - regional cooperation as the focus.

Focusing on industrial cooperation, the three provinces will give play to the role of innovation - element agglomeration platforms such as the East Lake Science City, the Xiangjiang Science City, and the Nanchang Future Science City, promote the cooperation and connection of the three major science and technology innovation corridors of Optics Valley, the west bank of the Xiangjiang River, and both sides of the Ganjiang River, and jointly build a number of national strategic emerging industry bases in the fields of aerospace, biomedicine, new materials, and Beidou spatio - temporal information.

The frequent cooperation actions of Hubei, Hunan, and Jiangxi provinces have also attracted the attention of other central provinces. Taking cultural and tourism as an example, local media in Henan Province issued an article saying that cross - provincial cultural and tourism cooperation can achieve resource sharing and complementary advantages, expand the tourist source market, and enhance brand influence. Whether it is the "Four Provinces in the North" or the Jin - Shaanxi - Henan Golden Triangle, Henan has a certain foundation for cross - provincial cooperation. However, at present, most of the explorations are carried out at the city level adjacent to the provincial boundaries, and further planning and cooperation at the provincial level are needed.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Urban Evolution", author: Yang Huan. Republished by 36Kr with authorization.