Integrated urban-rural development is an inherent requirement for solving the problems of unbalanced urban-rural development and inadequate rural development. The process of shoring up weaknesses and strengthening areas of weakness is also a process of stimulating potential and unleashing vitality.

Only by accelerating the building of a high-standard market system and promoting the free flow and efficient allocation of commodities and factors can we continuously enhance the balance and coordination of development and inject strong momentum into high-quality development.

In the early years, Zhejiang was divided by the "Qingda Line" connecting Qingliangfeng Town in Lin'an, Hangzhou, and Dayu Town in Cangnan, Wenzhou, and the development gap between the "mountain" and "sea" areas was once relatively large. Through sustained efforts, "mountain-sea cooperation" has effectively promoted integrated urban-rural development and complementary regional development. Today, Zhejiang has become one of the provinces with the most balanced regional development in the country. In 2022, the ratio of per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents narrowed to 1.9, the ratio between the highest and lowest regional per capita income narrowed to 1.58, and the per capita disposable income of rural residents ranked first in the country for 38 consecutive years. On the road to common prosperity, Zhejiang's development journey is a vivid embodiment of coordinated urban-rural development in the new era.

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must firmly grasp the overall layout of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, correctly handle major relationships in development, and continuously enhance the integrity of development." High-quality development is development in which coordination becomes an intrinsic feature. We must deeply recognize that coordination is both a means of development and a goal of development, and at the same time a standard and measure for evaluating development. The Central Economic Work Conference held not long ago deployed nine key tasks for doing a good job in economic work in 2024, and "promoting integrated urban-rural development and coordinated regional development" is an important one of them. Coordinated development focuses on solving the problem of unbalanced development. Only when coordinated urban-rural and regional development is achieved can the space for the domestic circulation be broader and its quality better. This important deployment points out the direction of efforts for promoting integrated urban-rural development and coordinated regional development to a higher level and higher quality.

Promoting integrated urban-rural development is where China's domestic demand potential lies. The largest imbalance in China's development is the imbalance between urban and rural development, and the largest inadequacy is the inadequate development of rural areas. Agriculture and rural areas remain the weak link in China's modernization drive. Integrated urban-rural development is an inherent requirement for solving the problems of unbalanced urban-rural development and inadequate rural development. The process of shoring up weaknesses and strengthening areas of weakness is also a process of stimulating potential and unleashing vitality. Continuously improving the completeness of rural infrastructure, the convenience of public services, and the comfort of the living environment, and enabling rural areas to have modern production and living conditions, is both a challenge and full of opportunities. In the first half of 2023, sales of green and smart home appliances in rural areas on major e-commerce platforms increased by 12.7 percent year on year; since 2023, the charging volume of charging piles in townships in five provinces, including Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Guizhou, and Yunnan, has increased significantly year on year. By placing rural construction in an important position in socialist modernization, coordinating the layout of rural infrastructure and public services, accelerating the interconnection of urban and rural infrastructure, and promoting the two-way flow of factors such as talent, land, and capital between urban and rural areas, we will expand space for building a new development pattern and promoting high-quality development.

To play the national game of chess well, coordinated development is the key to victory. At present, China's regional development situation is good, but the trend of divergence in regional economic development is obvious, the phenomenon of polarization of development momentum is increasingly prominent, and some regions face relatively large difficulties in development. Regional development gaps objectively exist. Only by following a path of rational division of labor and optimized development according to the conditions of each region can we promote coordinated development, differentiated development, and linked development. Take the C919 domestically produced large aircraft as an example: it is assembled in Shanghai, about 10 percent of its parts, 50 percent of its aluminum materials, and 50 percent of its composite structural parts come from Jiangsu, and its cabin doors and engine insulation materials come from Zhejiang, painting a vivid picture of the Yangtze River Delta gathering strength and becoming strong. Looking from the Yangtze River Delta to the whole country, newly opened railways and highways provide stronger support for land-sea linkage and east-west mutual assistance; growth poles, sources of momentum, and development belts are rising at an accelerated pace, making factor flows more active and adding momentum to economic development. Only by deeply implementing the strategy of coordinated regional development, resolutely breaking regional blockades and market segmentation, accelerating the building of a high-standard market system, and promoting the free flow and efficient allocation of commodities and factors can we continuously enhance the balance and coordination of development and inject strong momentum into high-quality development.

Looking back at 2023, the balance of China's economic development continued to strengthen. Looking ahead to the new year, by respecting objective laws, giving play to comparative advantages, promoting integrated urban-rural development, and promoting coordinated regional development, we will certainly be able to unleash more development vitality and potential, and provide strong support for promoting economic recovery and improvement, accelerating the building of a new development pattern, and striving to promote high-quality development.