Comprehensively enhance its functional capacity, Hangzhou is forging ever-closer ties with Shanghai.

Recently, Hangzhou Municipal Development and Reform Commission issued the *List of Measures for Hangzhou to Integrate into the Hongqiao International Open Hub*, putting forward 22 specific measures focusing on seven major areas including differentiated coordination of digital services, agglomeration efficiency of cross-border e-commerce, spillover value of exhibition platforms, high-end industry leadership, empowerment for enterprises to go global, unobstructed comprehensive transportation system, and improvement of cultural, tourism and business travel capacity. The measures aim to promote Hangzhou's in-depth integration into the Hongqiao International Open Hub, strengthen scientific and technological innovation and industrial coordination, and comprehensively enhance the development capacity of the city's open economy.

In 2021, the *Overall Plan for the Construction of Hongqiao International Open Hub* was approved by the State Council and issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, forming a "one core, two belts" development pattern. Among them, the "one core" refers to the Hongqiao Central Business District in Shanghai, and the "two belts" refer to the northward expansion belt extending to Suzhou, Jiangsu and the southward expansion belt extending to Jiaxing, Zhejiang, starting from the Hongqiao Central Business District.

This year marks the 5th anniversary of the launch of the construction of the Hongqiao International Open Hub. Over the past five years, the development goal of "basically completing the Hongqiao International Open Hub" has been achieved as scheduled. The GDP of the "one core, two belts" area has exceeded the trillion-yuan mark, rising from 2.3 trillion yuan in 2020 to 3.3 trillion yuan in 2025, with its economic density reaching 4.9 times the average level of the Yangtze River Delta.

Facing the 15th Five-Year Plan period, the state has proposed to "enhance the radiation capacity of the Hongqiao International Open Hub". The key to the high-level opening-up here lies not only in the "large throughput" of basic flows, but also in the "in-depth alignment" with international high-standard economic and trade rules and the "strong linkage" of coordinated opening-up.

Seizing the development opportunities, Hangzhou mentioned seven major areas in this list, with digital services ranking first. It will align with the governance system and opening-up rules of Hongqiao's high-end service industry, focus on key fields such as digital services, offshore outsourcing and digital cultural creativity, and build a service opening-up development pattern featuring differentiated coordination and complementary functions between Shanghai and Hangzhou.

In addition, in the field of cross-border e-commerce, Hangzhou will follow the coordinated guidance of "incubation in Shanghai and transformation in Hangzhou" to undertake the spillovers of high-level industries, factors and functions from Hongqiao, including targeted cultivation of Hongqiao-spillover headquarters, and support local Hangzhou enterprises to set up international headquarters and overseas expansion centers in Hongqiao.

From a broader perspective, there are many cities in the Yangtze River Delta that have close ties with Shanghai, and Suzhou has always been the one with the closest connection. This year, the state issued the outline of the 15th Five-Year Plan, proposing to "support the integrated development of key fields between Shanghai and Suzhou", which makes Suzhou the only surrounding city that has received national-level support for integrated urban development with Shanghai.

Data shows that Suzhou's GDP reached 2.77 trillion yuan in 2025, and it is striving to break the "3 trillion yuan" GDP threshold before 2027. Hangzhou has set the time to break the "3 trillion yuan" mark at 2030, with its GDP hitting 2.3 trillion yuan in 2025.

To seek more growth momentum, integrating with Shanghai has always been one of Hangzhou's options. As early as 2024, when the Great Shanghai Metropolitan Circle was "expanded", Hangzhou, newly included in the circle, stated that it would take the initiative to align with and serve the Great Shanghai, actively connect with the Shanghai Metropolitan Circle, fully integrate into the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, and form strong momentum for differentiated development and common progress through complementary advantages and collaborative innovation.

The outline of Hangzhou's 15th Five-Year Plan released this year also proposes to comprehensively align with the construction of Shanghai's "Five Centers", expand the breadth and depth of cooperation, give full play to the role of the Shanghai-Hangzhou Collaborative Innovation Center platform, and take the initiative to align with and serve the Great Shanghai.

This article is from the WeChat Official Account "City Evolution", written by Yang Huan, and published with authorization from 36Kr.