Abstract: The integrated urban-rural development is the ultimate goal of the development of urban-rural relations. Based on the literatures concerning urban-rural integration both at home and abroad and the real observations of China’s integrated urban-rural development, this paper subdivides China’s integrated urban-rural development into four phases: the separated urban-rural development, the interactive urban-rural development, the coordinated urban-rural development and the integrated urban-rural development. A quantized analysis shows that China’s urban-rural development is shifting from the stage of interactive urban-rural development into the stage of integrated urban-rural development. An empirical analysis by using the data of 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta region shows that the urban-rural integration policy of imposed uniformity should be changed, and a differentiated strategy from the perspective of regional differences should be implemented. The strategy for the regions at the stage of separated urban-rural development should focus on the rapid development of urban industry and the improvement of the capacity of rural development driven by urban development. The strategy for the regions at the stage of interactive urban-rural development should focus on the industrialized and modernized agricultural development. The strategy for the regions at the stage of coordinated urban-rural development should focus on giving fair opportunities to rural development. And the strategy for the regions at the stage of integrated urban-rural development should focus on effective implementation of the integrated urban-rural social management system.

Key words: urban-rural integration; stage positioning; cluster analysis; regional differences