The Fifth Pole Of China's Economy Is Coming, And This Time It May Be For Real

　　At this year's National People's Congress, Hunan and Hubei provincial delegations put forward a proposal on behalf of their delegations to support the development of the city cluster in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River as a major national regional strategy, hoping that the national level would further clarify the strategic positioning of the city cluster in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and build a model area for the development of the "Central Triangle" double cycle.

　　In addition, members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) from Hunan, Hubei and Jiangxi provinces also jointly submitted a proposal on "Suggestions for Accelerating Transportation Integration in the Midstream City Cluster of Yangtze River", suggesting that the National Development and Reform Commission, together with the Ministry of Transport, should organize the preparation of a development plan for transportation integration in the Midstream City Cluster of Yangtze River, so as to coordinate and guide the integrated development of transportation in the Midstream City Cluster of Yangtze River.

　　On February 24, the State Council approved the "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of the Mid-Yangtze River City Cluster" (hereinafter referred to as the "Implementation Plan"), which clearly aims to build an important support for the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the rise of the central region, an important growth pole for national high-quality development and an important city cluster with international influence.

　　Although the development of the city cluster in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River has not been clearly defined as a major national regional strategy, public opinion believes that the approval of the Implementation Plan means that the city cluster in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is only one step away from being elevated to a major national regional strategy, following Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, the Great Bay Area and the twin-city economic circle of Chengdu and Chongqing, the "fifth pole" of China's economy is already on the horizon.

　　"A critical period for development"

　　The Central Yangtze River City Cluster (also known as the "Central Triangle") is the largest city cluster in China and the most important in the central region, covering 31 cities in three provinces, Hubei, Hunan and Jiangxi.

　　In 2020, the total population of cities in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River will be around 130 million, accounting for about 9.4% of the country's population, while GDP will reach RMB 11.1 trillion, accounting for about 9.3% of the country's population. In terms of scale, the economic volume of the cities in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is comparable to that of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and is higher than that of the Chengdu-Chongqing twin circle, which is the fourth pole.

　　Among them, Wuhan in Hubei, one of the nine national central cities and the number one city in Central China, will have a GDP of 177.17 billion yuan in 2021, ranking ninth in the country; Changsha, another central city in Hunan, has also long since entered the trillion yuan GDP club, with a GDP of 1,327.70 billion yuan in 2021, ranking 15th in the country.