Games host Hangzhou is going for gold
City’s mayor says innovation, talent key to its ambitions
Hangzhou has witnessed robust development since it hosted the G20 Summit in September 2016, and even greater things are in the pipeline, according to its mayor, Xu Liyi.
The eastern Chinese metropolis, which is set to host the 19th Asian Games in 2022, is increasingly becoming a global destination as it works to improve its competitiveness, cultural charms and creative vitality.
The standing committee of Hangzhou people’s congress passed a motion recently to designate Sept 5 — the day the G20 Summit ended in 2016 — as Hangzhou’s International Day, in the hopes of further promoting its internationalization and enable the city to be better known throughout the world.
“The successful hosting of the G20 Summit provided a golden opportunity for the internationalization of Hangzhou,” Xu, the city’s mayor and deputy Party secretary, said in a recent interview.
He said he has always regarded innovation and internationalization as driving forces behind sustainable development in Hangzhou, the capital of Zhejiang province.
To seek better high-quality development, the city’s capabilities in attracting international talent should be seen as one of its core strengths, according to Xu.
“To attract more qualified talent, we need to spare no effort in building a favorable policy system that serves that goal, including funding support, financing and market entry, and a sound talent-development ecology to promote innovation to enable them to realize their ‘Hangzhou dream’,” the mayor said.
Hangzhou is home to 2.29 million individuals of recognized talent, with 442,000 considered high quality, according to local government data. It has also attracted 29,000 talented workers previously based abroad, including 15,000 expats.
Last year, the city welcomed 79,000 university graduates, among whom 10,000 were at postgraduate level. It also ranks among the top three Chinese cities in terms of appealing to foreign talent, according to China National Radio.
On the policy front, top-notch talented individuals and their teams are entitled to up to 100 million yuan ($15.7 million) in startup funds when they seek to establish businesses in the city.
“We’re also pushing forward construction of incubators and innovation centers such as the Zhejiang Lab,” Xu said, “as well as enhancing cooperation with leading research and development institutions from home and abroad to attract more talent and capital, to help boost Hangzhou’s development.” GDP Fiscal income Per capita urban income Per capita rural income Days of excellent air quality Newly added green areas Newly registered enterprises Patent applications
As a city with a rich cultural and historical heritage, Hangzhou has vowed to become a world-famous metropolis. How will Hangzhou push ahead its comprehensive social and economic development to realize this target?
Over the past few years, Hangzhou has witnessed skyrocketing development and change, especially after the G20 Summit in 2016. We’ve been fully utilizing our advantages in innovation, cultural development and ecology to stabilize a leading role in all-around development in Zhejiang province, with the city’s strategic role in China rising significantly, and its international influence growing all the while.
Special efforts have been made in the following five areas:
Innovative development
By encouraging both the Internet Plus strategy and traditional industrial upgrading, the city’s GDP reached 1.26 trillion yuan ($198 billion) last year, an 8 percent increase year-on-year. Fiscal revenue reached 292.13 billion yuan, rising 14.2 percent. Hangzhou has over 1 million various market entities, with the return rate of overseas talent taking a lead among all cities nationwide.
Coordinated development
Key emphasis was given to realize the overall development of both urban and suburban areas. The city’s per capita urban annual income reached 56,276 yuan, and 30,397 yuan in suburban areas. A total of 52 villages and towns have completed their environmental overhauls.
Green development
Famous for its beautiful landscapes, Hangzhou has been named a National Ecological Garden City. Last year, the city added 4.87 million square meters of green space.
Open development
Hangzhou has successfully hosted the G20 Leaders’ Summit and become a top MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) destination. Last year, the number of inbound tourists topped 4 million. It has also launched the nation’s first crossborder e-commerce comprehensive pilot zone and started construction on the world’s first electronic world trade platform, or eWTP, trial zone, to better facilitate the e-commerce sector.
Co-sharing development
Hangzhou has been on the list of National Civilized Cities for three consecutive years. In terms of administrative reform, it has continuously pushed ahead the “Run once at most” campaign — which simplifies application processes and minimizes bureaucratic red tape — at all levels — to better and more conveniently serve the needs of citizens. So far, all the city’s districts and counties keep their administrative services up and running during weekends, and residents can attend to 296 kinds of administrative proceedings by simply using their ID cards.
For the next step, we will continue to push ahead administrative reform and innovative development, and actively participate in the Belt and Road Initiative, while enhancing construction of Asian Games-related basic infrastructure projects. Efforts will also be made to spur rural vitalization and agricultural development, thus helping to realize coordinated development of both urban and rural areas.
Hangzhou, the home of e-commerce giant Alibaba, is called the “city of mobility”. What measures will the Hangzhou government take to better facilitate the mobility needs of residents and businesses?
Based on the sound IT infrastructure and flexible administrative system, we mapped out our mission to build Hangzhou into a “city of e-services”, aiming to better serve the public with all-around, one-stop comprehensive administrative services. By the end of this year, residents will be able to complete 80 percent of urban administrative affairs using just their IDs. For newly established enterprises, 90 percent of the administrative affairs can be handled online. We are also working on a “15-minute service circle” to enable residents to handle 60 percent of their personal issues, such as resident permits and banking, within their communities.
Looking ahead, what will Hangzhou do to enhance residents’ quality of life?
The city has always worked hard to beef up the public service sector, especially in areas such as education, medical services, health and social security. It was ranked for 11 consecutive years as the Chinese city where residents enjoyed “the most happiness”, with average life expectancy reaching 82.08 years, ranking third in China.
We will continue to enhance our investment in the above sectors, and strive to further boost the development of culture and sports sectors to better enrich residents’ leisure lives.
Hangzhou is hosting the 2022 Asian Games. How is the preparatory work getting on?
In September 2015, Hangzhou won the bid to host the 19th Asian Games slated for 2022. Since then, preparatory work has been proceeding smoothly and orderly. We aim to host a “green, intelligent, frugal and civilized” Asian Games. So far, the organizing committee has been set up, and the overall working plan has been made known.
This year marks a crucial period for the implementation of the plan. We will push ahead work concerning construction for the Asian Games stadiums as well as marketing and publicity, as we strive to host the Games with Chinese characteristics, a Zhejiang demeanor and Hangzhou flavor.