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

Taizhou in East China's Zhejiang province mapped out its social and economic goals for the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) period at the 5th session of the 5th Taizhou Municipal Congress of the Communist Party of China, which commenced on Jan 7. 

According to a document at the meeting, the city aims to develop itself into a national demonstration city for the private economy.

It will lead the country in institutional reforms on private economy and private investment, and strive to be a national model in terms of business climate.

Taizhou also looks to leverage technical innovation and digitalization to become a national benchmark city for Industry 4.0. 

It aims to be a leading player in China in terms of the integration of digital technologies with the manufacturing sector, with the ultimate goal being becoming a worldwide manufacturing hub.

More efforts will also be made by local authorities to stimulate innovation. The city plans to host a national high-tech development zone and an innovation powerhouse in the Yangtze River Delta.

In addition, Taizhou will aim to be a key node that underpins the nation's new "dual-circulation" development pattern, which refers to a development model in which the domestic market is the mainstay and the domestic and international markets complement each other.

It will strive to seek further integration with Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta region and play a bigger role in the Belt and Road Initiative. 

Efforts shall be made to improve the global profile of local manufacturing brands and facilitate in–depth opening in more fields.

In the next five years, Taizhou will work toward becoming a provincial central city with a permanent population of more than 3 million.

It is also set to bolster public happiness and improve the quality of life for residents and enhance the modernization of urban governance.