The strategic concept for developing the Yangtze River Economic Belt was proposed and elevated to a national strategy, a journey of nearly 30 years. As an important decision of the new government to build on past achievements and develop the economy, the construction of the Yangtze River Economic Belt aims to expand China's economic development space and form a new growth pole for transformation and upgrading, with self-evident significance.

　　As the Yangtze River Economic Belt involves one-fifth of the national territory, about 600 million people, and 11 provinces and municipalities, despite its good resources and industrial foundation, it also faces many problems such as administrative barriers and industrial homogenization. Its huge development potential as a unified regional economy has far from been unleashed.

　　After Premier Li Keqiang recently deployed the construction of the Yangtze River Economic Belt in Chongqing, local governments and Yangtze River waterway departments have taken frequent actions.

　　To build a golden waterway, the waterway must lead the way. Liu Huaihan, deputy director of the Yangtze River Waterway Bureau, said that the bureau will accelerate the construction of high-grade waterways, intelligent waterways, and ecological waterways, strengthen waterway dredging and management, and improve navigation standards.

　　Sources from the Yangtze River waterway system also revealed that after the Chongqing meeting, relevant national departments and provinces and municipalities along the Yangtze River will pay more attention to the advantages of water transport in the "13th Five-Year Plan" and will also emphasize how all parties coordinate to build a comprehensive multi-dimensional transportation system.

　　In addition, cities along the Yangtze River have also "expressed their positions." The Wuhan municipal government recently proposed to invest 95.1 billion yuan over the next six years to build a "Yangtze River middle reaches shipping center."

　　Wuhan to Build Shipping Center with 100 Billion Yuan

　　On May 4, Wuhan approved in principle the "Wuhan Yangtze River Middle Reaches Shipping Center Core Area Construction Plan (2030) and Near-term Implementation Plan (2014-2020)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan"), which plans to invest 95.1 billion yuan over the next six years to implement 50 projects to expand shipping hub capacity, and initially build the "Yangtze River Middle Reaches Shipping Center" by 2020.

　　According to the draft guiding opinions for the Yangtze River Economic Belt, Chongqing, Wuhan, and Shanghai will become the three major shipping centers along the Yangtze River. A source from the Yangtze River waterway system introduced that Wuhan has long been one of the three major shipping centers in the Yangtze River Basin: the upstream center is Chongqing, the downstream is Shanghai, and the middle reaches is Wuhan.

　　As early as 2005, Hubei Province proposed the strategic concept of building the Wuhan Yangtze River Middle Reaches Shipping Center. In 2008, Hubei integrated the port resources of Wuhan, Ezhou, Huanggang, and Xianning to build Wuhan New Port across administrative divisions. In 2010, the State Council approved the "Wuhan City Master Plan," officially clarifying for the first time Wuhan's status as the "Yangtze River Middle Reaches Shipping Center."

　　In July 2013, during his inspection tour in Hubei, Xi Jinping visited the Yangluo Container Port Area of Wuhan New Port. He explicitly stated that the Yangtze River Basin should strengthen cooperation, give play to the role of inland river shipping, and build the entire basin into a golden waterway.

　　Liu Huaihan, deputy director of the Yangtze River Waterway Bureau, said that from July last year to now, it can be further seen that the national strategy of the Yangtze River Economic Belt is deepening and extending. For the Yangtze River Waterway Bureau, accelerating the regulation and construction of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River waterway and helping Wuhan build the middle reaches shipping center are also more important.

　　According to the "Plan," by 2020, Wuhan's port throughput capacity will reach 350 million tons, and container throughput capacity will reach 5.5 million TEUs. By 2025, port throughput capacity will reach 500 million tons, and container throughput capacity will reach 10 million TEUs.

　　Wu Chuanqing, a regional economist at Wuhan University, said that for Wuhan to achieve the above goals, in addition to investment in hardware facilities, what is more noteworthy is how shipping logistics can integrate with the real economy. "Only when the city's real economy develops to a certain extent will there be demand for logistics and transportation of products; otherwise, the opened routes will face the risk of suspension or loss. Of course, laying out transportation facilities in advance is also necessary, which requires comprehensive consideration," he said.

　　A county-level city mayor along the Yangtze River also told the author that many cities and counties along the river currently have the impulse to build port areas and shipping centers, but if every county builds a port area, it will be a disaster, and unified coordination and planning by a department are needed.

　　Planning Trunk Waterway Construction

　　Currently, the Yangtze River's freight volume ranks first among inland rivers in the world and is still growing at a double-digit rate annually. However, the Yangtze River still faces problems such as insufficient transportation capacity, imperfect network structure, and backward comprehensive transportation hubs, which limit the development of shipping.

　　Liu Huaihan analyzed that dredging and managing the Yangtze River waterway has always been the top priority of the Yangtze River Waterway Bureau. At the Chongqing meeting, Premier Li Keqiang emphasized "using important ports as hubs, coordinating the construction of water transport, railways, highways, aviation, oil and gas pipelines, and collection and distribution to create a comprehensive multi-dimensional transportation corridor," which further reflects the principle of using the main line to drive the branches and increases the economic relevance of the Yangtze River waterway throughout the entire basin.

　　"Previously, the main focus was on the Yangtze River main line; now the emphasis is on the relationship between the entire multi-dimensional comprehensive transportation system along the Yangtze River and local economic development. This extension from line to area makes the focus more comprehensive, multi-dimensional, and multi-faceted," Liu Huaihan said.

　　A person familiar with the Yangtze River waterway analyzed that the emphasis on comprehensive multi-dimensional transportation this time also reflects imperfections in previous overall planning. He mentioned that after the super-ministry reform, although there is unified planning for railways, highways, water transport, and aviation, in reality they are still in a state of separation and independence. In terms of maximizing overall benefits, an integrated whole has not been formed, and not enough has been done. Now, to achieve comprehensive transportation, the layout of various transportation modes must achieve the best combination to achieve optimal resource allocation, highest efficiency, and lowest cost.

　　"After this plan, various industries and provinces and municipalities along the river will pay more attention to the comparative advantages of water transport, coordinated transportation development, and green ecological environmental protection," Liu Huaihan said. The Yangtze River Waterway Bureau is accelerating the pace of regulation, improving the effectiveness of regulation, and next will focus on the construction of high-grade waterways, intelligent waterways, and ecological waterways, with the goal of improving waterway conditions and raising navigation standards, to provide strong support for Yangtze River water transport and thereby promote the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

　　For Wuhan to build the middle reaches shipping center, improving navigation conditions is still the current basic work. The local government hopes that a 6-meter waterway depth can reach Wuhan year-round and a 4.5-meter waterway depth can reach Yichang year-round. However, since large-scale regulation of the middle reaches has just started, currently only the flood season and medium-high water periods can meet this requirement.

　　Sources from the Yangtze River Waterway Bureau said that the bureau is planning the "13th Five-Year Plan" for the Yangtze River main line waterway construction based on local economic needs and industrial layout, with the focus on further improving navigation dimension standards.

　　It is revealed that the Yangtze River Waterway Bureau has started preliminary research and model testing for a 6.0-meter depth waterway reaching Wuhan year-round and a 4.5-meter depth waterway reaching Yichang year-round, which is expected to be gradually realized according to the construction idea of "first open, then smooth." Work on upgrading waterway grades and extending waterway mileage in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River has also been put on the agenda. In the lower reaches below Nanjing, with the completion of the 12.5-meter deep-water waterway regulation project construction, achieving "deep-waterization" is not far away, and 50,000-ton ocean-going vessels can navigate day and night year-round.