Vice premier urges Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development

Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli urged coordinated development for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in central planning.

The vice premier made the remarks during his inspections in Beijing and neighboring Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province from Thursday to Friday.

Zhang stressed the importance of regional coordinated development and called for a good start to this project, which has been highlighted by the country's leaders.

President Xi Jinping cited the project when discussing the transfer of administrative functions in Beijing to neighboring areas, while presiding over a key economic meeting on Feb. 10, saying it needs definite targets to help map out and accomplish this time-consuming work.

Premier Li Keqiang demanded central and local governments cooperate to guarantee the project is pushed forward with a solid base.

Zhang said the next step is to cope with key problems and speed up the process while improving the general guideline by releasing a three-year short-term plan to give the project a timely schedule.

More major projects will be promoted and accelerated to fuel the regional development and help stabilize overall economic growth, he said.

Reform and innovation are the core value in carrying out pilot work, and realizing sustainable development shall be the priority.

"Green is money." Zhang said, "We need to actively pursue green, sustainable and low-carbon growth models, in order to tackle pollution and improve people's livelihood."

Governments and officials at all levels shall fulfill their duties and make contributions to the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development, the vice premier added. Endi