In early April, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council announced their plan to build a new city 100km southwest of Beijing, Xiongan New Area. The aim is to build another high-tech but environmentally friendly hub as part of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.
The new area will be of the same national significance as the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and the Shanghai Pudong New Area. In addition, it will be built to ease the population pressure on China’s capital Beijing, home to over 21 million people.
He Lifeng, Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said that the establishment of Xiongan New Area is an important integral part of measures to transfer non-capital functions out of Beijing.