The fifth forum for the development of state-level new areas was recently held in the Ocean Academy of Zhejiang University in Zhoushan, East China's Zhejiang province.

The forum focused on the construction of such areas and the promotion of regional coordinated development.

State-level new areas refer to a new kind of urban economic and development areas supported by China's central government. The country now has 19 such areas in Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, Zhoushan, and other cities.

Officials, scholars and experts from the National Development and Reform Commission, Zhejiang University and Nankai University, as well as representatives from state-level new areas, attended the forum.

Zhu Dongfang, proprietor of the China Economic and Trade Herald Journal of National Development and Reform Commission, said that such areas have seized the opportunities brought about through the construction of urban agglomerations and will be an important driving force for the development of the country's regional economy.

Chen Jianjun, executive director of the research center for regional and urban development at Zhejiang University, said that regional coordinated development requires high-quality integration, especially in terms of market, reform, and opening-up.

Li Lanbing, director of the research center for regional policy at Nankai University, said that China's regional coordinated development should focus on risk management, policy design, and the coordination of market, space, industries and governance.