The Yangtze River Delta is one of China's most dynamic economic regions, with its combined GDP approaching 35 trillion yuan (about $5.15 trillion) in 2025. As regional integration deepens, coordinating competition and cooperation among local governments has become a key governance challenge. Andy Mok, author of The Innovation Machine, says the Yangtze River Delta is building a new 'meta layer of governance' on top of the existing local governance structure, using new coordination mechanisms to turn competition among cities into regional cooperation, an approach that could have broader implications for the world.