Fig. 7: Original development path and optimal development path of saline lake industries.

Three paths were designed to explore the properties of the different development paths. Path − 1 (purple solid line): Initial structure of the industrial area as a starting point, followed by resource-based regional industrial economy development optimization model (RRIEDOM) modeling to guide development. Path − 2 (orange solid line): Starting point with polyvinyl chloride (PVC) demand of 1 million tons, followed by RRIEDOM modeling. Path − 3 (green solid line): No initial structure setup, direct development using RRIEDOM modeling. For further discussion of Fig. 7, please refer to Supplementary Discussion 1 in the Supplementary Information. Source data are provided as a source data file.