Aiming to improve

In May this year, after an inspection tour in Hebei, President Xi called for more efforts to reach new heights in the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regional hub and to make it a pioneer, and example, in pursuing Chinese modernization.

He called on Hebei to focus on the primary task of high-quality development. The province's strategic task is to create a new development pattern to accelerate building the province into an economic powerhouse with a sound environment, he said.

Xi also called for greater efforts to relieve Beijing of functions nonessential to its role as the nation's capital. He urged planning to start for the relocation of the headquarters of centrally administered State-owned enterprises and their subsidiary companies and innovation units to Xiong'an.

Greater progress was also urged on developing the Beijing municipal administrative sub center in Tongzhou, as well as Xiong'an New Area to effectively rid the capital of its "big city malaise".

On July 20, Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei announced the establishment of a joint working office to promote their coordinated development.

The joint working office sent a signal that cooperation between the three places will be strengthened, shifting from coordination to integration.

Xia Linmao, a member of the Beijing municipal standing committee and executive vice mayor, said the office will oversee the implementation of coordinated development tasks and also advance work tasks.

Key issues include the high-standard construction of Xiong'an New Area and Beijing's Tongzhou district. The high-quality development of three major counties in Hebei province is also high on the agenda.