It must be noted that without the well-off in the underdeveloped areas, there will be no comprehensive well-off in the province; Without the modernization of the underdeveloped areas, there will be no modernization of the whole province. This is like the "barrel theory" in economics, where the water capacity of a barrel is determined not by the longest board in the barrel, but by the shortest board. In other words, whether our province can achieve the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way and basically realizing modernization ahead of schedule depends to a large extent on whether or not we can narrow the gap between regions. This requires not only the accelerated development of the developed regions, but also the leapfrog development of the less developed regions.

——"The "Short Board" of Growing Underdeveloped Areas" (December 10, 2004) from "Zhijiang New Language"

Further reading:

The "barrel theory" is that the amount of water a barrel can hold does not depend on the longest plank, but on the shortest plank. For a barrel to be filled with water, each plank must be equally flat and unbroken, and if one of the planks is uneven or there is a hole in the bottom of one of the planks, the bucket will not be able to fill with water. People often use the "barrel theory" to explain that whether the development of a country or the development of a place is good, each part is often mixed, and the overall level of development is determined not only by the advantages, but also by the disadvantages. Therefore, to promote development, we should not only see the advantages and strengths, but also the disadvantages and shortcomings, and try to make up for the shortcomings, so as to achieve comprehensive, sustainable and coordinated development.

In 2002, in order to promote the coordinated development of the province, Zhejiang began to implement the "Mountain-Sea Cooperation Project" to strengthen the project cooperation between the developed coastal areas and the underdeveloped areas such as mountainous areas and islands in southwest Zhejiang in industrial development, new rural construction, labor training and employment, and social undertaking development, so as to promote the coordinated development of the province's regions and realize modernization simultaneously. The purpose of this move is to intensify work in a targeted manner through all-round cooperation between developed and underdeveloped regions, so as to make the "short board" of underdeveloped regions better, so that the people of all regions can share the fruits of economic and social development.

When Xi Jinping was in charge of Zhejiang, he integrated making up for shortcomings and coordinated development into the practice of reform and development. In the "88 Strategy" proposed by him, "give full play to Zhejiang's advantages in the coordinated development of urban and rural areas and accelerate the integration of urban and rural areas". After serving as the party's general secretary, Xi Jinping has been thinking about the blueprint for coordinated development from a national perspective. In December 2012, Xi Jinping took office soon after the wind and snow to the depths of the Taihang Mountain, where the road is narrow and rugged, belongs to the national contiguous poverty-stricken area, per capita annual income of more than 900 yuan, he said to the cadres: If you can see the real poverty, it is worth the 3 and a half hours from Beijing to here! This shows his concern for narrowing the gap between urban and rural areas and between regions.

In February 2014, in an exclusive interview with Russian television, Xi Jinping used the metaphor of "playing the piano with ten fingers" to elaborate on the connotation of coordinated development. He said: To be a leader in China, on the basis of having a clear understanding of the situation, we must, make overall plans, take into account the overall situation, make comprehensive balances, give prominence to the key points, and promote the overall situation. The idea that runs through it is precisely the coordinated development.

Xi Jinping profoundly explained the importance of coordinated development through the "barrel theory", and that the overall well-off is not only well-off in developed areas, but also in the synchronous well-off in underdeveloped areas; It should not only be the richness of material civilization, but also the fullness of spiritual civilization.

Focusing on coordination and emphasizing balance is Xi Jinping's consistent approach to governance. The Fifth Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China put forward a new development concept, and "coordinated development" is an important content. The uncoordinated development of our country is a long-standing problem, which is prominently manifested in the relations between regions, urban and rural areas, economy and society, material and spiritual civilizations, and economic construction and national defense construction. If we say that in the case of a backward level of economic development, the main task for a period of time is to run fast, but after running a certain distance, we must pay attention to adjusting the relationship and pay attention to the overall efficiency of development. In this context, Xi Jinping stressed that "to play a good '13th Five-Year Plan' period of the development of the whole country, coordinated development is the key to victory", it is to optimize the structure, make up for the shortcomings of the breakthrough progress, focus on improving the coordination and balance of development, and promote the sustainable development of China's economy and society.