# Urban Clusters

Northern Alliance: Shandong and Henan Forge Strategic Bloc to Rival Southern Growth

Shandong’s new 15th Five-Year Plan prioritizes deep economic integration with Henan to address the North-South developmental divide. The strategy includes multi-city urban clusters, regulatory shifts to support startups in Hangzhou, and aggressive talent recruitment in the Hengqin-Macau zone to drive high-tech industrial growth.