China announces new area to co-ordinate development around Beijing

China announced on Saturday it would establish the Xiongan New Area in Hebei Province as part of measures to advance the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

This is another new area of national significance after the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and the Shanghai Pudong New Area, according to a circular issued by the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and the State Council.

The move is a “major historic and strategic choice made by the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core,” said the circular, which described the decision as “a strategy crucial for a millennium to come.”

The new area, about 100 km southwest of downtown Beijing, will span three counties that sit at the center of the triangular area formed by Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei’s pro- vincial capital Shijiazhuang.

The move will help phase out some noncapital functions from Beijing, explore a new model of optimized development in densely-populated areas, and restructure the urban layout in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, according to the circular. The new area will cover around 100 square km initially and will be expanded to 200 square km in the mid-term and about 2,000 square km in the long term. President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, has said priority should be given to developing an area to pool non-capital functions that will be shifted from Beijing.

He has ordered a modern urban district to be built at a suitable location in Hebei, guided by new development concepts.