Xi calls for integrated N China development

Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for integrated and coordinated development of the region around Beijing.

After making a surprise appearance in an alley in Beijing and visiting some city facilities on Tuesday, Xi held a symposium on Wednesday, listening to work reports delivered by officials from Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Province.

Over 100 million people live in the three regions, which has a combined area of 216,000 square km.

Xi urged officials to bear in mind coordination and integration when building the economic zone surrounding Beijing, and note the need for balancing development, the environment, population and resources.

Development here can also provide momentum for the development of the area surrounding the Bohai Sea, as well as the whole of north China.

The symposium was held after Xi conducted field research in all three provincial regions. He toured Tianjin in May 2013 and held a meeting in a coastal city in Hebei to study local development issues.

Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli and other officials from both central and regional authorities attended the symposium.

Party chiefs of the three provincial regions reported the work being carried out, and made suggestions on infrastructure building, joint control of pollution and other issues.

Xi said the integrated development should be based on the comparative advantages and modern industrial divisions of each region, and that it must seek cooperation and win-win situations.

Optimizing regional industrial divisions and distributions and overall planning for resources should be focuses of the integrated development, said Xi, adding that infrastructure integration and joint control of air pollution should be priorities in the coordinated development of Beijing and Tianjin.

Xi put forward requirements on the development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.

He called for better top-level policy designs.

Major issues concerning functional definitions, industrial distributions, urban layout, the transportation system, and others, should be clarified, and detailed measures in finance, investment and project schedules should be made, said Xi.

He urged speeding up the coordination of industrial production and avoid identical development.

He said urban layout and structure needs to be optimized and division and coordination of city functions enhanced, adding that the integration of city agglomeration should be improved.

Xi also urged the three provincial regions to strengthen cooperation and coordination in environmental protection. Besides the joint mechanism for air pollution control that was launched last year, the three areas should also cooperate in forestry conservation, water resource protection and treatment, as well as the utilization of clean energy.

Regarding integrated transportation, Xi ordered quickening construction of a network featuring high speed, convenience, high efficiency, safety, large capacity, and low cost.

Market integration should also be accelerated so as to abolish barriers hindering free flow of capital, technology, property rights, talents and labor.

The coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei is a national strategy that carries great significance, Xi told the symposium. He urged officials to study the issue and accelerate the process.