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BEIJING’S neighboring Hebei Province is planning to step up development in the city of Baoding to prepare for the transfer of some governmental functions and public facilities from the congested capital.
An urbanization document issued Wednesday says Hebei officials will expand Baoding so it will be able to accommodate administrative organs, colleges and universities, research institutions, medical and nursing services that could move from Beijing.
The document was released by the Hebei Provincial Party Committee and the Hebei Provincial Government to solicit feedback.
With a high-tech center and modern industrial bases slated for construction, Baoding also will develop industries including high-end equipment manufacturing, new energies, energy efficiency and environmental protection, air travel and modern logistics through 2020, the document said.
Baoding also will improve its broader infrastructure in anticipation of the influx of administrative organs and enterprises.
The State-owned economics journal Caijing recently reported that government entities in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei have agreed to develop Baoding as an auxiliary Central Government center. Caijing reported that Baoding would be marketed as a “secondary political center” with various arms of the government moving there on an undetermined date.
The unassuming city of Baoding lies two and a half hours outside of Beijing, or 40 minutes by high-speed rail. The city has a population of 10 million, covers 20,000 sqkm and is virtually unheard of outside China, while it’s known by locals mostly as a place to get a good donkey burger.
Baoding’s GDP in 2013 was pegged at 268 billion yuan (US$45.5 billion), ranking fifth in Hebei, Beijing Youth Daily reported. Its development lags far behind Beijing. The city even has yet to see a Starbucks, the paper said.
The city of Langfang, located between Beijing and Tianjin Municipality, also will boost its service sector to serve as an ecological and recreational zone for the capital. (SD-Agencies)
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