There is no denying that China's regional economic development is highly unbalanced, with the south of China accounting for more than 60 percent of the national GDP. From a regional economic zone perspective, the north of China mainly consists of three zones: the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei economic zone, the Yellow River Basin economic zone, and the economic zone of the northeast region of China. The south, principally the Yangtze River Delta region and the greater Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao bay area, is growing much faster and attracts more population migration.

It appears that Chinese President Xi Jinping is very concerned about economic development in the north, particularly the Yellow River basin. On October 21, he inspected the estuary of the Yellow River in the city of Dongying, east China's Shandong Province. Within a short period – less than a year – from August 2019 to June 2020, Xi made four inspection field trips to the Yellow River. Read more>>