By Niu Xiong, Research Institute of Resources and Environment Policies, DRC; Tang Zedi & Zhou Lingling, School of Public Policy & Management at Tsinghua University

Research Report, No.161, 2021 (Total 6226) 2021-6-17

Abstract: As one of the major regional strategies, the 14th Five-Year Plan has made it clear to promote ecological conservation and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin, which has become the guideline for regional high-quality development of this region in the new era. The Yellow River Basin plays a pillar role to bolster China’s manufacturing industry and the latter serves as the foundation of economic growth and gives full rein to the high-quality development of Yellow River Basin. In light of the inside structure of manufacturing industry, the provinces in the Yellow River Basin have different leading industries for manufacturing industrial upgrading at different stages. Meanwhile, the Yellow River Basin relies highly on natural resources, and the proportion of heavy industry is relatively high, leading to slow upgrading as well as evidently higher pollutant emissions than national average level. This paper notes that manufacturing industry in the Yellow River Basin lacks an innate driver for growth. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen category-based supportive policies tailored to local conditions, establish industrial guidance fund, and encourage the building of the south-north economic cooperation pilot zones in a bid to propel manufacturing industrial upgrading. Besides, industrial division of labor within the region and ecological and environmental coordinated governance need to be strengthened for high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin.

Keywords: Yellow River Basin, manufacturing industry, industrial upgrading, high-quality development