Business
18:58, 10-Oct-2017
Beijing focuses on ‘reduction’ in development for first time
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To become a “world class harmonious and livable city,” Beijing has decided to ease pressure through regional coordinated development in the next 20 years, a model may be shared by other metropolitans in China.
Authorities in Beijing released the full text of the city plan for 2016 to 2035 at the end of September, after it was approved by the country’s State Council.
As the capital city of world's most populous country, Beijing refined its position with focus on four areas, however being an economic center is not one of them.
The expanding of Beijing’s population and functions have surpassed the affordability of local resources and the environment, and the latest city plan is set to reduce the burden on ensuring sustainable development, said Shi Weiliang, a chief planner at Beijing city planning and land resources management committee.
The two major objectives for the plan are to remove non-capital functions and solve "big city diseases."
The latest city plan addressed “reduction” in development for the first time, Xiong Yuan, a researcher at International Monetary Institute of Renmin University, told CGTN on Tuesday.
Beijing will take an asset-light strategy without development space for heavy industries, and the city’s economy will be driven by the service industry, he said.
With a population of more than 21.7 million, Beijing has suffered from heavy traffic and is sometimes choked in smog.
Now Beijing claims to control its population through coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province, which is highly stressed in the plan.
Xiongan New Area in Hebei Province, which is unveiled in April, plays a key role in the joint development plan.
The new area, covering three of Hebei’s counties Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin, is located 100 kilometers southwest of downtown Beijing and expected to absorb part of the non-capital functions of Beijing, especially high-end and hi-tech companies as the industry becomes mainstream.
A total of 48 companies, including Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu, will set up branches in Xiongan New Area, the local management committee announced on September 28.
Beijing is not the only metropolis in China faced with the burden of “big city disease”, Xiong said, noting Shanghai and Guangzhou should also consider unloading resources and functions in the future plan, Xiong said.