A view of Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]

Ningbo in East China's Zhejiang province is positioned to be a comprehensive world-class city in the spatial collaborative plan for the Shanghai metropolitan region jointly released by Shanghai and Jiangsu Zhejiang provinces on Sept 28 .

Ningbo has been assigned to seek further development in its advantageous industries of shipping trade, product services and smart manufacturing and improve its capabilities in technical innovation and strengthening cultural exchanges.

It is expected to play a supporting role in bolstering Shanghai to become a global hub for trade, shipping and technological innovation.

The county-level cities of Yuyao and Cixi, which are administered by Ningbo, are developing into nodes with global features, and Xiangshan county and Ninghai county are expected to serve local cities and provide strong support for global cities and nodes.

The Shanghai metropolitan region refers to a city cluster centered in Shanghai with a competitive industrial chain and mature urban communities. According to the plan, the region will first include Shanghai and eight other cities in the two provinces, namely Nantong, Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou in Jiangsu and Huzhou, Jiaxing, Ningbo and Zhoushan in Zhejiang.