Lei Jie, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, has called for efforts to step up the development of the Jinan metropolitan circle to drive the high-quality development of Jinan, capital of East China's Shandong province, and align the city with the nation's new development paradigm.

Lei, who is also chairman of the Jinan Municipal Committee of the CPPCC, the nation's top political advisory body, brought her proposal to the recently concluded second session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee.

She called for supporting the establishment of a metropolitan circle with rail transit, incorporating the Laiwu-Linyi railway and the Dezhou-Shanghe railway into the ongoing revision of the plan for the medium and long-term railway network.

She also said that Jinan should become the second center for assembling China-Europe freight trains, developing a new sea-land trade route aimed at countries involved in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and connecting the Asia-Pacific region.

In addition, she called for policies to support the development of the Jinan International Medical Center, aiding in its transformation into a hub of medical and health innovation integrating medical treatment, education, research and production.

Lei emphasized that promoting the development of the Jinan metropolitan circle will enable Jinan to better serve and integrate into the new development paradigm, thereby leading the province in green, low-carbon and high-quality development.

It will also help transform the development model for megacities and promote the formation of an economically advantageous and high-quality regional development layout, she said.