The Yangtze River Delta will surpass the New York and Tokyo regions to become the world's most economically productive metropolitan area by 2018, scholars from Shanghai Jiao Tong University said at a seminar yesterday.

They said gross domestic product in the Yangtze Delta metropolitan region, which comprises a triangular-shaped territory including Shanghai, southern Jiangsu Province and northern Zhejiang Province, will exceed that of New York in 2013 and Tokyo in 2018.

The predictions were based on a forecast of 11-percent GDP growth in the delta and 2 percent for New York and Tokyo.

"The GDP of the Yangtze Delta region will reach 15.92 trillion yuan (US$2.3 trillion) in 2020," said Gao Ruxi of Jiao Tong University.

Scholars urged Yangtze Delta authorities to increase the service industry and lift any internal barriers that may hinder future development.

They also advised area authorities to learn from the Pearl River Delta region in Guangdong Province, also one of the country's leading economic regions and a major manufacturing center.

The Pearl River Delta region generates a massive amount of GDP with lower investment than other regions, and its quality of life is comparatively high in terms of people's savings and the prevalence of computers and cell phones among its consumers, authorities said.

(Shanghai Daily September 24, 2008)