On May 10, the Fifth Symposium of the National University Think Tank Alliance for Major Regional Strategies was held at the Central University of Finance and Economics in Beijing. The event was co-hosted by our institute, the Capital Development Institute of Peking University, and the Regional Major Strategy Research Center of the Central University of Finance and Economics. With the theme “Regional and Urban Development Strategies in China During the 15th Five-Year Plan Period,” the conference brought together over one hundred experts and scholars from universities, research institutions, and policy-making bodies across the country to explore innovative pathways for regional coordinated development in the new era.
At the opening ceremony, Liu Binglian, Chair of the Alliance, highlighted the achievements and responsibilities of the Alliance over the past four years in promoting regional coordination. He outlined the Alliance’s development plan for the 15th Five-Year Plan period, focusing on technological innovation, green transformation, and policy coordination. Liu also noted that future efforts will emphasize enhanced collaboration in big data and artificial intelligence. He mentioned that Nankai University is currently building a National Applied Laboratory for Regional Economics, and the Alliance itself has strong potential for further development.
During the event, a plaque-awarding ceremony was held to recognize new member institutions. Liu Binglian and Li Zheng, Vice President of the Central University of Finance and Economics, jointly unveiled the plaque for the newly established Regional Major Strategy Research Center at the university.
Keynote speeches were delivered by Yang Kaizhong, Member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Zhang Dongqiang, former Deputy Director-General of the National Development and Reform Commission; and Professor Li Gang of Nanjing University, who shared their insights in line with the conference theme. The symposium also saw the official release of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Coordinated Development Large Language Model, developed by Professor Shen Tiyan’s team at Peking University, offering intelligent solutions for regional governance.
During the roundtable forum, Professor Zhang Gui from our institute joined scholars from Wuhan University, Shandong University, Jinan University, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Liaoning University, and the Central University of Finance and Economics in a deep discussion on key implementation priorities for major regional strategies during the 15th Five-Year Plan period.
In the afternoon, three parallel sub-forums focused on popular topics such as innovative models of cross-regional governance and the synergy between rural revitalization and new-type urbanization.
The National University Think Tank Alliance for Major Regional Strategies was initiated by the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Collaborative Development Research Institute of Nankai University (Institute of Economics and Social Development) and officially launched at Nankai University on December 17, 2021. The Secretariat is located at Nankai University, and the Alliance currently includes 11 member institutions.
