President's nationwide trips show road to the future

"Xiong'an has become a fertile ground for innovation and entrepreneurship," he said.

In April and September, Xi traveled to Guangdong and Heilongjiang provinces, respectively, to advance national strategies for developing the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and revitalizing the northeastern areas of the country.

He also visited Jiangxi province in October to present a new vision for developing the Yangtze River Economic Belt, before going to Shanghai to outline steps for developing the Yangtze River Delta region.

Last year, the nation's top leadership enhanced the top-level design for coordinating regional development by merging several leadership groups into one dedicated group. They included those for development, revitalizing the northeast, and the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

High-quality growth

Behind the emphasis placed by Xi on advancing regional integration is the nation's strong commitment to moving forward with its common prosperity drive and fostering a new development pattern.

Ma Liang, a professor of public administration at Renmin University of China, said furthering major strategies for integrated regional development will help China narrow the divide between different areas and press ahead with high-quality development.

"Regional integration has been a key part of the experience during China's successful poverty alleviation campaign, as it enables different regions to apply their comparative strengths," he said.

In 2022, GDP in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Delta reached 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) and 29 trillion yuan, respectively, while in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area it stood at 10.46 trillion yuan, making the regions cornerstones of the Chinese economy and key sources of high-quality development.