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Governance of capital cities puts people first

Author  :  ZHANG KE     Source  :    Chinese Social Sciences Today     2019-12-09

Hosted by the Capital Development and Strategy Research Institute of Renmin University of China, the second forum on capital city development was recently held in Beijing. Experts and scholars at the meeting discussed topics including the renewal of Beijing’s historic parts and the development of new areas, regional coordination, and the governance of metropolitan areas.

The historic parts in Beijing carry great values. Wang Kai, deputy director of the China Institute of Urban Planning and Design, said that Beijing’s historic parts are a symbol of China’s history and culture, a very important record of the lives of the people there, a center of cultural heritage, and a model of social governance. It sets an example for the historical and cultural protection and the revival of the historic parts in other cities.

Wang said that Beijing’s planning and governance should be peopleoriented, and the emphasis of all our work should be laid on the citizens there. Furthermore, the focus must be shifted from changing the urban style to improving people’s living standards.

The coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei should be achieved by transferring the noncapital functions of Beijing, adjusting the economic structure and spatial structure, and exploring a new development model suitable for densely populated areas. Xia Cheng, deputy director of the Department of Regional Economy at China’s National Development and Reform Commission, stated that starting with unblocking Beijing’s non-capital functions and solving typical urban ailments, we need to establish a new coordinated development pattern covering such areas as the economy, transportation, environment, industry, public services and market integration.

Focusing on metropolitan area construction means that China’s urbanization process has left a period of mere competition and entered a new era in which regional coordination and competition coexist. Yin Zhi, executive deputy-dean of the research institute of China’s new-type urbanization at Tsinghua University, said that Guiding Opinions on Cultivating and Developing a Modern Metropolitan Area, released in February 2019, offers a route to solve the increasingly serious problems of central cities and a preview of a larger regional coordination.

Editor: Yu Hui

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