The Yangtze River Delta is an economic powerhouse of modern China. The delta, roughly the size of Germany, encompasses Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui.

The area is home to 15 percent of China's population and contributes roughly a quarter of the country's GDP. It also contributed more than a third of its foreign trade and investment in 2019, with a value of 11.24 trillion yuan ($1.58 trillion).

In December, the central government unveiled a grand plan to further develop and integrate the region over the next 15 years. Further integrating the Yangtze River Delta is expected to help elevate the region's standing in the global economy and lead to more cooperation and competition between China and the world, according to the plan.

This is China's third national-level regional integration strategy, after the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei development plan, which was proposed at the 2014 annual meeting of the National People's Congress, and the framework agreement on strengthening Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area cooperation, which was launched in 2017.

The first initiative on regional economic cooperation in the Yangtze River Delta can be traced back to 1992, when 15 cities established a joint mechanism for economic cooperation.

In 2018, the integration of the Yangtze River Delta was upgraded to a national-level strategy.