The regional city cluster "Jing-Jin-Ji," with "Jing" referring to China's capital Beijing and the other two to the metropolis Tianjin and the neighboring Hebei Province, is the country's solution to "big city malaise."

A key strategy initiated in 2014, the city cluster hopes to move non-capital functions out of Beijing to treat urban ills such as traffic jams and pollution in the Chinese capital. Xiongan, the city in north China's Hebei Province, where President Xi Jinping paid a visit on Wednesday, plays a vital role in this strategy.

The Chinese president also inspected Cangzhou and Shijiazhuang, both in Hebei Province, in the following two days. His tour not just went deep down into the wheat fields, but also covered a chip research institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation, where he learned about the local efforts in developing high-tech industries.

'High-quality development'

Xi, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, spoke highly of the socio-economic achievement made by Hebei Province since the 19th CPC National Congress, urging the province to keep sticking to the prominent task of high-quality development.

He made the remarks on Friday at a symposium regarding the "coordinated regional development" of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

In his tour to the chip research institute in Shijiazhuang, Xi learned about the research and development of the institute, urging more efforts in cutting-edge scientific sectors. The institute has been doing research on semiconductors since 1956, creating more than 60 nation-leading products.

The president said he hopes to see Hebei continue advancing innovation-driven development and make new breakthroughs in "green transformation."

Jing-Jin-Ji's 'coordinated regional development'

Xi said at the symposium that the development strategy of "Jing-Jin-Ji" coincides with the need of China's high-quality development in the new era and an effective path to the construction of the Chinese modernization.

Over the nine years since the strategy of "Jing-Jin-Ji" was initiated, fruitful results have been made in the key fields of industrial upgrading, traffic management and environmental protection, bringing the region's total GDP to 10 trillion yuan ($1.44 trillion) in 2022, up 1.8 times compared with the figure in 2013.

As a further boost to the development of Hebei, the country announced the establishment of the Xiongan New Area in 2017, which lies about 100 km southwest of Beijing and spans three counties in Hebei.

During Wednesday's inspection tour of Xiongan, Xi stressed that the development of the Xiongan New Area has entered a phase when the same importance must be attached to both its large-scale construction and its purpose to relieve Beijing of functions non-essential to its role as the national capital.

Currently, China's centrally-administered state-owned enterprises (SOEs) have set up more than 140 subsidiaries and branches in the area. Over 3,000 enterprises registered in Xiongan have a background of investment from Beijing.

'Talents hub'

"Xiongan is a young city with great potential," said Zhao Can, an employee of Hebei Xiongan Urban Construction Co. Ltd. The former Beijing resident has decided to settle down in Xiongan with his wife.

Zhao is among the hundreds of thousands of young talents attracted to the area for its favorable policies, friendly public services and "green" living environment.

At the symposium, Xi urged the advancement of "high-level talents hub" for the city cluster, calling for its model role in realizing technology self-reliance.

The president also stressed the importance of a more thorough and high-level push for employment in the region. 

He expressed hope that the city cluster would reach new heights in the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, becoming a pioneer and example in the pursuit of Chinese modernization.

(Cover: Chinese President Xi Jinping inspects a chip research institute of China Electronics Technology Group Corporation in Shijiazhuang, capital of north China's Hebei Province, May 12, 2023. /Xinhua)