The three provincial capital cities of Jiangsu (Nanjing), Anhui (Hefei) and Jiangxi (Nanchang) signed a memorandum on 22 May to forge a strategic regional development alliance. According to the memorandum, the cities will plan intercity expressway and rail networks and co-ordinate industrial development.

A degree of inter-dependence already exists, according to Nanchang’s vice mayor Zeng Guanghui. “Some of the copper parts needed by the major domestic appliances manufacturers in Hefei are produced in Nanchang and the aeroplane industry in Nanchang relies on research and development capabilities in Nanjing,” he was quoted as saying. The alliance will also allow Hefei and Nanchang, the two major cities in central China, to be the preferred destinations for Shanghai and Nanjing to transfer some of their non-core industries further away from the coast.

In a separate move, Nanjing government announced on 25 May that the city would issue residence cards to Chinese scholars returning from abroad, either with a foreign citizenship or an overseas permanent residence. These people will have access to a special innovation and enterprise fund that encourages them to settle in the city. They will also enjoy the same treatment as local residents in terms of social security and housing subsidies, and their children will have free education up to secondary school level.