Some prestigious universities of Beijing will be moved to neighboring Hebei province in an effort to achieve balanced development of Beijing and its neighbors and ease the increasing pressure on the capital's infrastructure and resources, according to the city's policymakers.
At the city's annual "Two Sessions", the plenary sessions of the People's Congress and Political Consultative Conference, mayor Wang Anshun said that in 2016, Beijing will formulate a plan to transfer out the non-essential functions of Beijing as the national capital.
The four types of functions to be shifted out include the general manufacturing industry, regional logistics base and wholesale market, part of the public services (including medical care and education) and government services.
Among the higher education institutions to be transferred to Beidaihe, a coastal resort around 300 kilometers from Beijing, are Beijing University of Post and Telecommunications and Beijing Film Academy.
The undergraduate sections of these schools will be shifted out, while postgraduate sections and research institutes will remain in Beijing, because technological innovation is one of the major functions of the capital city according to a plan on integrated development of Beijing, Hebei and Tianjin.
Tsinghua University and Beijing University, both based in Beijing, will also set up research institutes in Hebei province.
Beijing will also move part of its medical resources out. So far, around 50 hospitals in Beijing have moved to Hebei, set up branch hospitals, or sent staff to support hospitals in Hebei.
According to a government plan on the integrated development of Beijing, Hebei and Tianjin, China aims to make Beijing a "national center of political, cultural and international exchange activities" and a technological innovation center. Under the plan, Tianjin, a port city next to Beijing, will be a national research and development base for advanced manufacturing, and a shipping hub. Hebei province will be a national base for trade and logistics, and an experimental area for industrial transition and upgrading.
The plan aims to help the integrated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei, and ease the "urban malaises" of the capital city such as air pollution, traffic and water shortage.
