Hangzhou, capital of East China's Zhejiang province, on July 30 laid out an ambitious blueprint and vision for integrating it into the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region.

The YRD region, including Shanghai and Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, is among the areas with the most robust economic growth, the highest level of opening-up and the strongest capacities in innovation in China. The integrated development of the delta region was elevated to a national strategy in 2018.

The action plan sets a timetable and road map for Hangzhou's participation in the YRD integrated development in the coming years. It stipulates that the city is expected to basically form a development model to integrate into the delta region by 2025 with the city's competitiveness, international profile and innovation capacity being upgraded to a new level.

According to the plan, tasks will be prioritized in a set of areas. These include technological innovation platforms, transportation networks, the digital economy and manufacturing industries, the further opening-up process, the ecological environment, culture and tourism, the business environment and people's livelihoods.

Hangzhou will also further develop Hangzhou Metropolitan Zone to closely connect cities in the region -- including Jiaxing, Huzhou, Shaoxing, Quzhou and Huangshan -- to infrastructure and public services, while drawing experience from Shanghai.

Shanghai will play a leading role in the YRD city clusters. The faster Shanghai develops, the more opportunities will flow through to Hangzhou, according to an official of the Hangzhou government.