Visitors at the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Big Data Innovation Application Center in Langfang, Hebei Province Photo: Wang Xiao/XINHUA

At a recent webinar on the analysis and forecast of Beijing’s macroeconomic situation, experts and scholars conducted in-depth discussions on the current situation of Beijing’s economic recovery and the main focus of its future development.

In the second quarter of this year, China’s economy showed the trend of recovery. Liu Yuanchun, vice president of Renmin University of China (RUC), said that in order to resume work and production under the normalization of epidemic prevention and control, it is necessary to deeply analyze Beijing’s strategic goals, as well as the new changes and trends brought about by the pandemic, and grasp the new opportunities brought about by the crisis.

Liu suggested clearing away a series of obstacles that the traditional economy has raised against the repositioning and redevelopment of Beijing in the past and making good use of the dividends of the country’s related policy packages to further promote the development of Beijing’s high-tech industrial zone.

According to Wen Kui, former president of the Capital University of Economics and Business, the concept of “capital economy” has completed its historical mission, and the future goal and new concept should be the “development” of the capital.

Zhang Jie, deputy director of the Institute of Capital Development and Strategy at RUC, suggested that Beijing’s development should focus on capital-intensive, innovation-intensive and AI-intensive high-end manufacturing and strategic emerging industries, and create technological innovation centers with global influence.

Zhang suggested vigorously developing a high-tech industrial system and manufacturing system. In terms of innovative R&D and large-scale advanced manufacturing capabilities, the capital city needs to seize the high ground of the global industrial base and industrial chain.

Beijing’s economic recovery is to a considerable extent related to the situation in other regions across the country as well as across the globe.

Of Beijing’s GDP, 77.8% depends on other regions, according to Lin Guijun, executive director of the Academy of China Open Economy Studies at the University of International Business and Economics.

Beijing’s service industry has both upstream and downstream advantages, Lin continued. For example, the added value created by the technology service industry, which belongs to Beijing’s upstream advantage, largely serves Jiangsu, Henan, Guangdong, Shanghai, Tianjin, Hebei and other regions. The retail industry, which belongs to Beijing’s downstream advantage, depends on global trade and consumption in Tianjin, Hebei, Inner Mongolia and other regions. As such, if the economic recovery in other regions across the country and around the world is not satisfactory, Beijing’s economic recovery will also be delayed.

The strategic layout of the coordinated development of high-tech industries in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei determines the final formation of the high-quality development pattern of Beijing’s economy.

Zhang proposed relying on Tianjin and Hebei to develop high-end manufacturing and high-tech industrial systems so as to build Beijing into a base of Chinese local high-tech multinationals with global competitive advantages and a base of small and medium-sized enterprises featuring leading world-class technological innovation.

In addition, Zhang said it is necessary to establish funds for core technological innovation breakthroughs; for R&D and the production of important and basic equipment; and for disruptive technological innovation, R&D and production. It is essential to strengthen future production and R&D capabilities, and to accelerate the creation of a Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei industrial belt of coordinated development