Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region's coordinated development generates new growth driver

* Nine years on, the coordinated development in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regional city cluster is now in full swing and has grown into a new driving force for China's development.

* The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region's GDP reached 10 trillion yuan (about 1.4 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2022, representing a 1.8-fold increase from 2013 at current prices.

* Coordinated development has not only boosted economic growth, but also improved people's livelihood in the region.

The coordinated development in Beijing and neighboring regions is now in full swing and has grown into a new driving force for China's development, nine years after China launched a key strategy to build the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regional city cluster.

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 10 trillion yuan (about 1.4 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2022, representing a 1.8-fold increase from 2013 at current prices, according to a report released by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics on Feb. 20.

This aerial photo taken on March 31, 2022 shows the Xiong'an Railway Station in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

A more rational industrial layout, the more balanced resource distribution and innovation-driven development have not only helped the crowded Chinese capital achieve healthy growth, but also brought benefits to Tianjin and Hebei.

INDUSTRIAL LAYOUT OPTIMIZATION

Beijing Carale Robot Technology Co., Ltd. was established in the Chinese capital in 2014 and moved its factory and R&D center to the neighboring municipality of Tianjin in 2017, with the business flourishing since then.

"All thanks to the policy support from the Tianjin Binhai-Zhongguancun Science Park," the company's CEO Yin Li said. The park, formally established in November 2016 in the Tianjin Binhai New Area, has now become the city's scientific and technological innovation heartland.

The park has not only inherited the innovative spirit of Zhongguancun, the country's first national high-tech industrial development zone, but can also make full use of Tianjin's strong manufacturing base. It was a big move in linking the industrial layout of the two municipalities.

This aerial photo taken on May 12, 2022 shows the Tianjin Binhai-Zhongguancun Science Park in north China's Tianjin. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

Yin's company could enjoy market information and technical resources of high-level universities in Beijing, and at the same time benefit from the strong policy advantages of Tianjin, which resulted in a reduction of the company's operating costs.

The decision also produced other positive outcomes. In 2022, Carale's sales reached more than 20 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 40 percent.

The same story is unfolding in the Xiong'an New Area, Hebei Province. Located about 100 km southwest of Beijing, the area has been designed as a major recipient of functions previously located in Beijing but which are not essential to its role as China's capital.

Hebei Province has welcomed some 44,000 enterprises transferred from Beijing and Tianjin, according to the provincial development and reform commission. This year, Hebei plans to absorb 30 second and third-tier subsidiaries of central enterprises which are scheduled to settle in Xiong'an.

This aerial photo taken on Sept. 6, 2022 shows a view of Rongdong District in Xiong'an New Area, north China's Hebei Province. (Xinhua/Xing Guangli)

INNOVATION-DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT

In the Beijing Daxing International Airport Economic Zone, Du Qiuju, a staff member of Beijing AegleStem Therapeutics Co., Ltd. was doing her daily job in the lab -- carefully examining stem cell raw materials.

As a native of Gu'an County, Hebei Province, Du quit her job in her hometown a year ago and chose to embrace a new opportunity in the economic zone, because "it offers a better salary and is conducive to career development."

She doesn't have to worry about commuting distance. She usually rides a motorcycle for 40 minutes to get to the company. In addition, a rail transit line currently under construction, which is located close to her home, will make commuting more convenient in the future.

The Beijing Daxing International Airport sits at the junction of Beijing's Daxing District and Langfang in Hebei Province. The economic zone has a planned area of 150 square km in total and develops industries ranging from international medical care, and airport guarantee and support services, to international convention and exhibition spaces, comprehensive-purpose bonded areas, as well as aviation logistics.

This aerial photo taken on June 25, 2019 shows the terminal building of the Beijing Daxing International Airport in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin)

Due to its unique location advantages and rich policy support, more and more high-tech enterprises like AegleStem have settled there, while many talents from Hebei and Tianjin have been attracted there by superior jobs.

"Beijing has significant R&D strength, while Hebei offers relatively low land and labor costs. Enterprises there are very impressed by the complementary advantages of these two regions, which could combine to form synergistic development advantages," said Zhu Tianzhu, assistant director of the economic zone's administrative committee.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in 2021, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region invested a total of 394.91 billion yuan in R&D, 2.1 times that of 2013, accounting for 14.1 percent of the national total.

TOGETHER FOR SHARED FUTURE

Coordinated development has not only boosted economic growth, but also improved people's livelihood in the region.

Beijing Children's Hospital in 2015 started assisting the children's hospital in Baoding City, Hebei Province, providing professional medical workers and technical support.

In the past eight years, more than 8,000 medical experts from Beijing have served at Baoding Children's Hospital. They performed operations there and passed on their experience, and eventually cultivated a large number of local medical professionals and high-level medical departments in Baoding.

This aerial photo shows Beijing Children's Hospital in Baoding City, north China's Hebei Province, Oct. 12, 2021. (Xinhua/Zhu Xudong)

According to Tian Jian, director of Baoding Children's Hospital, the hospital only saw about 250,000 patients a year back in 2015, but now it could see over 600,000 patients a year. "Our hospital is now capable of carrying out major operations. Local patients can enjoy Beijing's high-quality medical resources and medical services on their doorsteps."

Apart from this rational distribution of medical resources, 22 university development alliances have also been established in the region, aiming to balance educational resources and provide equitable opportunities for students.

Transportation development has been a basis for the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. A "one-hour traffic circle" now exists between Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei cities, greatly facilitating residents' work and lives in the three areas.

The region has also enjoyed better air quality and a more sustainable energy mix. In 2021, the average density of PM2.5 -- fine particulate matter that causes smog -- fell 15.6 percent compared to a year earlier. Renewable energy accounted for 8.8 percent of the region's total energy consumption, up 1.9 percentage points from 2020, according to the NBS.