How ecological protection is coordinated with high-quality development in the yellow river basin and Yangtze river economic belt: A comparative assessment

To keep economic development sustainable, China has been promoting innovation-driven development, i.e., high-quality development coordinated with ecological protection. This study examines and compares how ecological production is coordinated with high-quality development in two strategic regions of the Yellow River Basin and Yangtze River Economic Belt by combining several methods including Entropy method, coupling coordination modeling, Dagum Gini coefficient, and convergence modeling. The results indicate that the ecological production in the Yellow River Basin has coordinated with high-quality development at a higher level than that in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, although at a lower growth rate. The coordination level in the Yellow River Basin is largely driven by the upstream regions, while in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, it is largely driven by the downstream regions. The differences in the coordination levels within and between these two strategic regions are diminishing and converging, moving from regional unbalanced development to regional balanced development. The coordination levels of both strategic regions can be improved by accelerating urban construction, enhancing labor quality, and strengthening government macro-control. In the Yellow River Basin, improving infrastructure can also accelerate the convergence of the coordination levels. The empirical evidence is useful to promote collaborative efforts among provinces in China or other developing countries in ecological protection and high-quality development.