Under the dual role of the macro regulation and the market discipline, the economic development in Yangtze River Delta presents moderate adjustment; some unhealthy, unstable factors have been kept within limits in very early step, the energy supply tense has been ameliorated and the development of economy has been reduced. Along with the obviously fall back of the increasing rate of the fixed asset investment, the export increases with strength in each province, and the consumption market presents flourish development; the pulling effects of all these three preponderate demand are becoming more and more in line.

The development speed becomes reasonable. In the first quarter of the year, adjustment appears in the development in Yangtze River Delta. In the sixteen cities, the growth speeds of GDP have fallen in some degrees except in Yangzhou, Zhenjiang and Taizhou. The seven provinces in Zhejiang have fallen obviously more than the eight in Jiangsu and Shanghai’s growth speed has fallen from the last year’s 13.5% to 10.8%. Half of cities growth speeds persist above 15%, among which Nantong and Wuxi have paralleled the first, each falled back 0.6 and 1.9 percents; Suzhou, Zhoushan, Changzhou, Nanjing, Yangzhou and Zhenjiang were immediately behind with the growing speeds between 15 and 15.4 percent, among which the adjustment amount of Suzhou was the most, reaching 3.1%. There were seven cities with speeds between 12 and 15%, among which Hangzhou and Ningbo have adjusted from last year 15.5% and 15.2% to 13.5% and 12.5%, Jiaixng and Shaoxing have adjusted from 16.2% and 15.1% to 14.2% and 13.3% respectively. Huzhou province has fallen to 14% from 18% in the first quarter, the adjusting amount of which was the most.

The industrial development structure tends to be reasonable. Since the application of the macro regulation policies, cities of Yangtze River Delta have earnestly carried out the scientific view of development; actively carried the adjustment of industrial structure and the change of development mode forward; further economized on energy and reduced its consumption; the industrial consumption of the electric power has appeared an obvious fall in its growing speed as the industrial production persists relatively high development. At the same time, the phenomenon that the industrial growth had depended so much on heavy chemical industries has been evidently ameliorated, the frame of that both of the light and the heavy industries pull the economic growth has begun to appear. In the first quarter, the industrial consumption of the electric power in Yangtze River Delta (Shanghai is not included) was 48.2 billion kilowatts-hour, 17.8% more that the last year but the increasing rate was 5.4% less than the last first quarter level and 10.3% less than that of the total production value of industries above the scales. In the sixteen cities except Ningbo, Zhoushan, Taizhou and Yangzhou, the industrial electric power consumption has been falling compared to the last level. Heavy industries’ development speeds in most cities begin to decline and the development in the light and heavy industries has become more harmonious. Let us say Suzhou, Wuxi and Changzhou, in the first quarter of the last year, the increasing speed of the heavy industrial output value was 20% higher than that of the light industrial output value in these three provinces; but this first quarter, the provinces’ increasing speed of the heavy industry is 7.1% less than that of the light industry reversely; the gaps between the light and the heavy industries growth speeds in Suzhou and Changzhou have been reduced to 0.3 and 10 percents from the last year levels of 33.7 and 22.4 percents.

The driving force of the three demands to the economic development began to accordant. Seen from the operation of the three carriages, the anticipated effect of the macro regulation policies has appeared further. This year in the sixteen cities, the investment increment declines, and consumption returns steadily and the export levels in large amounts; the dependence of the economic development upon the investment demand has decreased to some degree, and the export oriented is an obvious feature of the economy. One fact is that the overinvestment has been effectively controlled. In last year’s first quarter, the investment increments in two thirds of the cities in Yangtze River Delta were more than 50%; the fastest reached 120% and the least also got to be above 35%. The first quarter this year, six cities had finished an entire social fixed asset investment of $302.6 billion, increased by 15.5%, 43.6% slower than the last year; only seven cities’ increments were above 20%, and three even had negative increases; without taking the price factor into consideration, the fixed asset investments in most cities have been obviously less than their local output value increments. The rational correction of the investment increment decreases the investment ratio in the GDP from 43.1% in the last year to 42.2% this year, the decrease of which has not been seen for years. Another fact is that the total consumption demand has been relatively stable. Compared to the swift coming down of the investment demand, the consumption demand in Yangtze Rive Delta has been steadily going up. In the first quarter, sixteen cities have finished a total retail amount of social consumption goods of $238.1 billion, increased by 14.6%, which is 0.7% more than last year’s increment; thought it was still less than the investment increase, the gap between the two vital domestic demands had shrunk from 45.9% to 0.9%. Seen from different regions, we find that in Shanghai, the consumption increasing speed had increased to 10.2% from last year’s 9.3% in the same period; and in Jiangsu, it had increased from 18% to 19.2%; and in Zhejiang it had decreased from 1.3% to 13.2%. Finally is the fact that export persists to increase upon a large amount base. Stimulated by the rise of merchandize prices all over the world and others like the speeding up development of the liberalization of trade, the foreign trade in Yangtze River Delta continues to grow with strength after several years of fast development. In the first quarter of the year, the export trade in sixteen cities has realized 30% increase; eleven of them export more than the last year, especially Nanjing, Yangzhou and Taizhou, the increments of which exceed 60%. In the two largest export cities of Shanghai and Suzhou, however, the increasing speeds have adjusted each increasing rate from 68% and 77.9% in the last year to 32.4% and 51.1%. The sixteen cities have totally finished exporting $59.1 billion goods in the first quarter this year, 42.6% more than the last year, and the increment is 12.6% less.

The stress of utilizing foreign funds becomes obvious. Since carrying out the macro regulation policies, the supply conditions of resources like the earth and electric power have changed greatly. In the first quarter of the year, the newly signed foreign invested projects in Yangtze River Delta have decreased; the scale of newly brought along funds have shrunk and the increasing rate of the foreign funds that we make use of have become reduced, which have never appeared before. The newly investment projects have only increased a few in Zhoushan province, the amounts have not changed in Shaoxing and Taizhou, but in other cities, the decreasing amounts were relatively large. There are thirteen cities that the agreed registered foreign funds have decreased, four of which have decreasing amounts of more than 40%. In the first quarter, the total newly signed foreign invested projects were 3050, 957 less than the last first quarter; the agreed registered foreign funds were 15.62 billion, decreased by 10.8%. The received foreign funds have a better situation than that agreed, but the differences among cities were large. In the first quarter, the received foreign funds in Yangtze River Delta were $6.38 billion, 6.4% more than the last year level; the first two were Taizhou and Zhengjiang with increments of 150% and 68.7% respectively; also there were seven which the receive funds have decreased in various degree, and five of which even decreased by 10%, indicating that in a future period, the driving force of the foreign investment in China to Yangtze River Delta might be weakened.