The Multidimensional Analysis of the Yangtze River Strategy

Reporter Yang Peiju

On September 12, 2014, the State Council promulgated the “Guiding Opinion on Promoting the Development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt by Relying on the Golden Waterway” (hereinafter referred to as the“opinion”), a new round of investment is being fermented. At present,the various provinces and cities along the river have taken actions, all kinds of advices, planning and policies have been introduced, the investment is up to billions, ten of billions and even trillions.

At present, what concerns the experts is that being led by the Yangtze River strategy, various investment army go forward with great strength and vigour, and GDP theory is still popular. Many local governments depend on the fixed thinking of “building industrial city, developing industrial city, strong industrial city”, without any heed to the requirements of main functional area, resource endowment and development status quo and potential, nor to the need to cultivate economy and the city with its own characteristics. According to the reporter investigation,currently in the transfer process of the Yangtze River economic belt, there are problems like having many activities but lack of projects, having many negotiations but lack of practices. Certain governments attract projects through “selling waterfront”, regarding the waterfront resources as “tang's monk meat”. Waterfront resource has been disorderly used. Some port enterprises and the project owners “enclose the land” and “enclose the water” to build dock, in some places, a dock built on average in less than a kilometer, port terminals “do not have enough to eat”or even “sunbathe” phenomenon is widespread. Experts believe that in process of industry transfer, to realize winwin situation of transformation and upgrading of regional industry development and enterprises, realize the balance of economic development and environmental protection,we should guard against “blind building”, and redundant construction, etc. According to some enterprises which are planning to shift to the Yangtze river midstream and upstream, various places along the river has rushed into industrial transfer and urbanization construction, shopping mall has been built one by one with only a few kilometers apart from each other. The trend of blind building and redundant construction is vigorous.

The implementation of the Yangtze River strategy is the action of the nation to reposition the role of the Yangtze River golden waterway, it is the overall strategy to drive the coordinated development of the east, middle and west China. So, how to make gold waterway better connect the“pearls” of the hinterlands of the Yangtze River economic belt and form the development pattern of “point, line and network” is the key to make the“ Yangtze River shipping channels” flow uninterruptably.

The main problem faced by Yangtze River golden waterway at the moment is that the height of Nanjing Yangtze River bridge restricts large ship navigation;The stranded capacity of the Gorges Dam results in huge retention of cargo ships ; proportion of highgrade waterway is not high, channel design, upstream hydropower facilities seriously lag behind; Efficient transportation system has not yet formed, all these problems restrict the role of the golden waterway.

At present, the status of both the Yangtze River industrial layout and the current situation of the Yangtze River golden waterway is fragmented, with separate governance and actions. It is doubtful whether the “opinions” can eradicate these hard-rooted illness that have existed for many years.

Right now, segmented management in the Yangtze River brings more fragmented, redundant construction and many barriers, innovative water area management is imminent.Only unified management can make the Yangtze river elements flow, and truly become a new supporting belt of China's economy.

Apart from the top-level design, management, regional coordination mechanism need to follow up, making up the shortage of laws, regulations and standards is the key to solve the problem. For this reason, experts are calling for the nation to implement the law of Yangtze River,law of waterway, law of shipping and other regional laws and regulations as soon as possible, so as to provide legal support to the Yangtze River economic belt regional cooperation and regional economic development,regulate the development behavior of the Yangtze River economic belt, realize the transformation from administrative governance to law governance of Yangtze river economic belt.

Obviously, it is urgent that the implementation of the Yangtze River strategy should be guaranteed by law. At the same time, with the premise of “l(fā)aw”, there should be conditions and force of implementation to make the law effective. To govern, make good use of and protect the Yangtze river is not only the well-being of hundreds of millions of people living in the Yangtze River area,but also relates to the overall situation of sustainable development of national economy and the society.