Research On The Evolution Of Port Hinterland Scope And Coordinated Development In Yangtze River Delta Region

This research takes 12 ports in the Yangtze River Delta region as the research object,and41 municipal cities at the prefecture level and above in the regions of Jiangsu Province,Zhejiang Province,Anhui Province and Shanghai Municipality as the hinterland analysis unit.Based on the improved plume model,the direct and indirect hinterland ranges of each port in2012,2016 and 2020 are divided,and the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of the hinterland range changes are analyzed;in addition,the coordinated development relationship between ports and their hinterland economies in the Yangtze River Delta region is studied in conjunction with the coupled coordination degree model,and suggestions to promote the development of ports in the Yangtze River Delta region are put forward based on the research findings.This research indicates that:(1)When assessing the overall competitiveness of ports,a comprehensive evaluation is conducted based on five aspects: urban economic size,urban economic quality,port scale,port infrastructure,and port development potential.It was found that the comprehensive competitiveness scores of Shanghai Port,Ningbo-Zhoushan Port,Suzhou Port,Nanjing Port,and Jiangyin Port remained relatively stable across three years,consistently ranking among the top five in terms of port comprehensive competitiveness.Zhenjiang Port,Nantong Port,Lianyungang Port,and Ma’anshan Port ranked in the middle to lower range in terms of comprehensive competitiveness,while Taizhou Port,Wuhu Port,and Tongling Port ranked in the lower range;(2)The analysis of spatiotemporal evolution in the immediate hinterland reveals the following: In terms of changes in the immediate hinterland scope,the eastern coastal ports in the Yangtze River Delta region tend to remain relatively stable,while ports in the central and western inland regions experience significant variations in their immediate hinterland scope.Moreover,changes in the immediate hinterland scope of a given port often manifest as the expansion or contraction of peripheral hinterlands.Regarding the number of immediate hinterlands,ports with strong comprehensive capabilities such as Shanghai Port,Ningbo-Zhoushan Port,and Nanjing Port exhibit a greater capacity to incorporate the hinterland cities of smaller ports,resulting in a higher number of immediate hinterlands.Ports with relatively weaker comprehensive capabilities such as Taizhou Port,Nantong Port,and Zhenjiang Port have fewer immediate hinterlands,and their hinterland scope is primarily limited to their respective core port areas.In terms of distribution characteristics,the immediate hinterlands of most ports are characterized by continuity,indicating that each port possesses a competitive advantage within a certain regional range.Additionally,there is a significant coupling relationship between the distribution of immediate hinterlands and the transportation network;(3)The analysis of spatiotemporal evolution in the indirect hinterland reveals the following: In terms of changes in the scope of the indirect hinterland,the hierarchical relationships within the indirect hinterland in coastal regions generally remain stable,while the attribution of the indirect hinterland in inland areas,farther from the seaports,undergoes frequent changes.This suggests that compared to seaports,inland river ports have a comparative advantage in competing for the indirect hinterland in inland regions.In terms of the number of indirect hinterlands,during the study period,Suzhou Port,Wuhu Port,Nanjing Port,and Shanghai Port generally have a higher number of indirect hinterlands.Ma’anshan Port,Ningbo-Zhoushan Port,Lianyungang Port,and Zhenjiang Port have a moderate number of indirect hinterlands.Jiangyin Port,Taizhou Port,Tongling Port,and Nantong Port have a lower number of indirect hinterlands,positioning them in the lower range.In terms of the dispersion of the distribution of indirect hinterlands,nearly half of the ports exhibit non-contiguous hinterlands.Regarding the regional distribution of indirect hinterlands,the majority of ports have their indirect hinterlands concentrated within the administrative boundaries of their respective port areas.Only Shanghai Port,Suzhou Port,and Nanjing Port have indirect hinterland areas beyond their own provinces.This indicates that as the distance increases,ports with stronger comprehensive capabilities and advantageous locations have a significant advantage in competing for the indirect hinterland;(4)The analysis of the coordinated development between ports and their hinterland economies indicates the following: The development of ports and their hinterland economies mostly follows a stage where the ports lag behind the hinterland economies.There are evident spatial distribution characteristics in the coordinated development between ports and their hinterland economies.Cities along the Yangtze River with core port areas within their jurisdictions show a relatively better coordination stage with the port’s economic development compared to inland cities.Based on these findings,corresponding development suggestions are proposed in this study: optimize port layout planning,enhance port functional positioning,and promote port upgrading and development;optimize operational management strategies,boost the growth momentum of the hinterland economy,and expand the hinterland scope of ports;strengthen regional infrastructure interconnection and construction,reinforce port service capabilities,and enhance the level of coordination between ports and hinterland economies.This research not only achieved the direct and indirect hinterland division of the port in the Yangtze River Delta region but also evaluated the coordinated development relationship between the ports and hinterland economy in the region,which to some extent enriched the related research on the evolution of port and hinterland scope and their economic coordinated development.The empirical results and suggestions of this research are beneficial for integrating various related resource elements within the Yangtze River Delta region,promoting better linkage between ports and their hinterland,and facilitating high-quality integrated development of the region.