All government departments should take the initiative in pushing forwards the integration of the Yangtze River Delta region and make Ningbo a pilot zone as part of it, according to Zheng Shanjie, Party chief of Ningbo in Zhejiang province. 

He was speaking at a recent work deployment conference held by the local authorities to help advance YRD integration.

A plan on how Ningbo shall promote the process was announced at the conference, as 19 key projects were signed, including one for improving urban public security, which was signed between Ningbo and the Hefei Institute for Public Safety Research at Tsinghua University.

Zheng urged local government departments to guarantee the sound implementation of the plan by focusing on four key aspects.

First, Ningbo must fully leverage its advantages as one of the world's big ports, a gateway of the YRD region to the outside, and a city with an advanced manufacturing industry.

Second, Ningbo should take the initiative to cooperate with Shanghai and other cities in the region so as to improve its competitiveness in innovation, public services, environment and modernization. 

Third, Ningbo needs to advance the building of the Front Bay New Area as an effort to promote Shanghai-Zhejiang cooperation, and accelerate its integration with Zhoushan.

Finally, Zheng said Ningbo should drive the construction of major transportation projects such as the Shanghai-Jiaxing-Ningbo railway, and introduce some big industrial projects to support YRD integration.