Sun Shutao, mayor of Jinan, delivers a speech at the forum on interactive opening-up for ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin on July 16. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province, hosted a forum on interactive opening-up for ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin on July 16.

The forum invited officials from cities along the Yellow River, including Zhengzhou in Henan province, Taiyuan in Shanxi province, Xi'an in Shaanxi province, Xining in Qinghai province, and Yinchuan in Ningxia Hui autonomous region, as well as officials from cities in Shandong along the Yellow River to talk about cooperation and development in the Yellow River Basin.

Bao Shujun, researcher of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that to carry out the Yellow River strategy, Shandong should integrate into the Belt and Road Initiative.

The province should support the connections among cities in the Yellow River Basin and attract more multinational companies. Increased efforts should be made to strengthen cooperation with other regions in China.

Moreover, cities should work together to build a cooperative market in the Yellow River Basin, strengthen policy coordination for industrial development, as well as promote the exchange of capitals, labors, information resources, data, and information, said Sun Shutao, mayor of Jinan.

According to Sun, Jinan is speeding up the construction of a Yellow River big data center and a platform for ecological protection for the Yellow River Basin to promote resource sharing along the Yellow River.