Shijiazhuang eyes Beijing resources

Shijiazhuang, the capital of North China's Hebei Province, plans to assume part of Beijing's auxiliary functions, a local government announcement stated, but analysts said on Wednesday that the increasing number of cities joining the list to receive resources from Beijing may lead to heavy competition among the cities.

The local government of Shijiazhuang issued a package of measures for industrial upgrading and transformation to get ready for resources that might be transferred from Beijing, local news portal hebnews.cn reported Tuesday.

Shijiazhuang plans to develop advanced manufacturing bases, modern service industry bases and logistics centers, said the report.

The Shijiazhuang government could not be reached for comment by press time.

This is good news for the less-developed cities in Hebei, but local governments should avoid rivalries between each other when trying to attract high-quality industries and companies, said Li Wenliang, a public management expert at the University of International Relations in Beijing.

"They should have a clear understanding of what their distinctive advantages and conditions are so as to bring in suitable industries from Beijing," Li told the Global Times Wednesday.

A statement posted by the Hebei government on its official website in April said that Tangshan and Shijiazhuang will be defined as secondary centers of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei economic circle.

Beijing will relocate some of its non-core functions to nearby cities, as President Xi Jinping called for coordinated development of the region around Beijing during a seminar on regional development held in Beijing on February 26.

The National Development and Reform Commission is now working on a draft blueprint of a plan for Beijing, Tianjin municipalities and Hebei Province to form a regional bloc of co-development.

With insufficient water resources and heavy pollution, Shijiazhuang needs to develop low-carbon industries like medical machinery and modern logistics, said Zhang Gui, deputy director of the Center for Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Development Research at Hebei University of Technology.

On the other hand, Tangshan, a heavy industrial city, needs to upgrade production lines and introduce companies such as iron and steel deep processing firms, Zhang told the Global Times Wednesday.

He noted that the central government should issue detailed policies as soon as possible, such as clarifying specific industries for different cities.

But Li said it is impossible for the central government to unveil details in the near future.

"The establishment of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei economic circle is a long-term plan. Along with some companies and industries being transferred out, basic resources like top-quality schools and hospitals should also be shared out, which is going to take a very long time," he noted.

Hebei or Tianjin hukou (permanent residency permit) can hardly compare with that of Beijing, which would be an obstacle for those places in attracting talent from Beijing, said Zhang.

In addition, the central government's plan may amplify pollution and home price hike concerns for some local residents, although it can help relieve the weather pollution, transportation congestion and rising home prices in Beijing, the analysts remarked.