People's Daily:

The coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, planed and promoted by General Secretary Xi Jinping, is part of China's national strategy. What kind of function does Hebei have in the coordinated development, and how will it give play to its own advantages? Thank you.

Wang Dongfeng:

Thanks for your question. The coordinated development is a major national strategy, and I will answer this question.

The coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is a major national strategy made by the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, and is of huge significance for moving non-capital functions out of Beijing, optimizing regional development layout and building new economic growth poles. Over the past seven years, Hebei has been focused on proper handling of the non-capital functions from Beijing and building "three areas and one base." It has made noticeable achievements in industrial relocation, ecological construction and transportation integration. The coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is of historical importance and has had far-reaching influence, greatly driving socio-economic development and promoting people's well-being. 

First, we have been focused on proper handling of the non-capital functions moved out from Beijing and promoted breakthroughs in key areas. We have focused on removing non-capital functions from Beijing, accelerating the construction of a world-class city cluster with the capital at its core, a Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei airport group and circum-Bohai Sea port group, and playing a part in building the third economic growth pole. We have focused on functional complementation, integrated interaction and industrial relocation. As a batch of major projects including the Shougang Group, Hyundai Motor Group and big data centers have settled and flourished in Hebei, a number of wholesale markets have been moved to Tangshan and Cangzhou, two major cities in the north of the province, bringing over 40,000 commercial tenants and relocating nearly 100,000 people. We have adhered to joint prevention and control in ecology, and strengthened the management of air pollution, the upstream and downstream of river systems, and soil conditions, in a bid to build an ecological compensation mechanism. Last year, the number of days classed as "good" for air quality in Hebei totaled 256, an increase of 30 days over the previous year. The PM 2.5 density was 44.8 micrograms per cubic meter, down by 10.8% year on year, hitting a record low. We now have more blue-sky days in Hebei. We are working hard to build a modern transport system. Together with Beijing and Tianjin, we have jointly built 32 transboundary routes stretching a total of 2,005 km. A transportation card that unifies fare payments for public transportation systems in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei is making life easier for residents in the three regions. The total lengths of railways and highways in operation in the province have reached 7,870 km and 8,042 km, respectively, both ranking second in the country. A transportation layout featuring integrated railways, airlines and waterways has also taken shape.

Second, we have emphasized construction of the "three areas and one base," fully playing Hebei's part in the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. First, we are accelerating the transformation of driving forces as we strive to build a national industrial transformation and upgrading demonstration area. We will continue cutting idle capacities while upgrading traditional competitive industries and promoting the development of high-end manufacturing, modern services and emerging industries of strategic importance to build a new industrial base. We will continue optimizing the industrial layout which features the tertiary sector accounting for the largest share of GDP, the secondary sector accounting for the second largest and the primary sector accounting for the smallest. Second, we are advancing the integration of urban and rural development as we work hard to build a new-type of urbanization and rural-urban overall development demonstration area. We will focus on building the regional central city and upgrading major node cities and counties guided by spatial planning. We plan to build over 300 characteristic towns and 10,000 beautiful villages, as part of efforts to improve infrastructure construction and public services. The urbanization rate among permanent residents rose from 48% in 2013 to 60% in 2020. Third, we will strive to build an ecological environment support area in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to provide a strong ecological safety barrier for the capital. We will accelerate implementation of the Construction Plan for the Capital Water Source Conservation Functional Zone and Ecological Environmental Supporting Zone in Zhangjiakou and construction of major greening projects in the Yanshan-Taihang Mountain area. In a bid to further improve the carrying capacity of the environment, We will take full advantage of the water diverted from the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, properly use the water from reservoirs and precipitation from the flood season, strengthen the comprehensive supervision and management in the over-exploitation of underground water, and reinforce the ecological protection of Hengshui Lake and the offshore areas of Bohai Sea. Fourth, we are striving to build a key base for national modern commercial-trade logistics, vigorously promoting domestic and international trade and expanding multi-layered consumption. We have given full play to our advantages in location, transportation and industries, and facilitated the construction of logistics hubs, parks and leading enterprises. As the host of the 6th and 7th China International Logistics Development Conferences, the province has realized the regular operations of China-Europe and China-Asia freight train services. The total volume of freight transportation reached 2.48 billion metric tons in 2020, ranking sixth in the world. Last year, the total value of imports and exports rose by 10.2% year on year. In the first quarter of this year, the total value of imports and exports and the total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 32.1% and 24.3%, respectively.

Third, we have actively deepened comprehensive reforms, continuously fueling the coordinated development. We have facilitated the coordinated development of the three northern counties of Hebei's Langfang city and Beijing's Tongzhou district and built 10 transboundary routes. The Langfang section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal will open to navigation by the end of June. We have accelerated construction of the Beijing Daxing International Airport economic zone, Caofeidian zone, Bohai new area, Zhengding new area, and other major projects which have constantly shown their demonstration effects. We have continued to deepen institutional reforms, promoting the mutual authentication of quality certifications and test results in the region. A total of 28 branch campuses of high-quality schools of Beijing and Tianjin have settled in Hebei. A total of 30 hospitals in Beijing and Tianjin have been included as part of Hebei's designated medical insurance system, enabling the public to better enjoy the common development and shared growth. As part of the efforts to build a community of collaborative innovation and promote research and development (R&D) in Beijing and Tianjin, and accelerate the transformation of Hebei, we have built 95 innovation alliances with universities, R&D institutions and major enterprises in Beijing and Tianjin,, attracting over 90 billion yuan worth of technological contracts from Beijing and Tianjin during the 13th Five-Year Plan period. 

The coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region enjoys huge potential and broad prospects. We will, under the strong leadership of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, ride the momentum, go forward hand in hand, fully consider the overall situation, and provide more high-quality services for Beijing and Tianjin, in a bid to achieve new breakthroughs in the region's coordinated development. Thank you.