Tongzhou and Beisan counties: how to coordinate development

China News Weekly Reporter / Xu Tian

Issued in China News Weekly 941, March 30, 2020

"The three counties of the North will be integrated into Beijing in many aspects." On March 17, the "Development Plan for the Coordinated Development of Tongzhou District, Beijing, Sanhe, Dachang, and Xianghe of Hebei Province" (hereinafter referred to as the "Plan") was announced by the National Development and Reform Commission. Many professionals make this interpretation.

Sanhe, Dachang and Xianghe are all under the jurisdiction of Langfang City, Hebei Province, collectively referred to as "the three counties of the North". Beisan County is located between Beijing and Tianjin, but is not connected with Langfang, and has become an enclave. For many years, the northern three counties have been known because of their short distance to Beijing and low housing prices, they have become the "sleeping city" of Beijingers.

The three counties of Beibei are closely connected with Tongzhou District, but because of their own policies over the years, many problems have arisen in their development. The "Planning" points out that the spatial layout of the two places lacks coordination, loosely organized functions, prominent occupational and residential imbalances, and serious development problems on the sidelines; cross-border traffic problems are prominent, and traffic congestion is serious, especially the chaotic traffic order during morning and evening rush hours.

It is precisely because of Beijing's positioning as a "sleeping city" that the northern three counties have developed an unbalanced industrial development structure over the years. There are many traditional industries, few emerging industries, low industrial levels, weak employment capacity, and excessive dependence on real estate development. There is a significant gap between the two places in the allocation of resources, service levels, and facilities standards in public service areas such as education and medical care.

The "Planning" was issued to solve this series of problems and achieve the coordinated development of Beisan County and Tongzhou through measures such as unified planning, unified policies, unified standards, and unified control, including spatial pattern, public transportation, and public services.

Come naturally

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Regional Coordinated Development Demonstration Zone is the strategic positioning of the Plan for Tongzhou and Beixian counties.

This positioning is reminiscent of another demonstration area-the Yangtze River Delta ecological green integrated development demonstration area, which was also issued the overall plan by the National Development and Reform Commission six months ago, including Qingpu District in Shanghai, Wujiang District in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, and Jiaxing in Zhejiang Province. The area of ​​Jiashan County in the city is also similar to the total area of ​​Beisan County and Tongzhou, about 2300 square kilometers.

However, Tongzhou and Beibei counties are “coordinated development”, while districts and counties such as Qingpu are working for “integrated development”. Zheng Degao, deputy director of China Academy of Urban Planning and Design, pointed out in an interview that the cultural environment and resource endowment gaps between the two provinces and one city in the Yangtze River Delta are small, and they have the motivation and conditions to achieve integration.

The gap between Beisan County and Tongzhou is relatively large. Xiao Jincheng, vice president of the China Regional Economics Association, told China News Weekly that the three northern counties belong to the more economically developed regions in Hebei Province. However, compared with Tongzhou, the economic foundation is still weak and the rural appearance is also relatively poor. Therefore, the coordinated development of Beisan County and Tongzhou firstly solves the problem of gap.

According to 2018 data, Tongzhou's GDP was 83.24 billion yuan. Among the three counties in the North, Sanhe's GDP was 48.77 billion yuan and large factories were 10.9 billion yuan. Xianghe's 2017 figure was 25.08 billion yuan. The sum of the GDP of Beisan County exceeds that of Tongzhou.

It is not difficult to understand that for Beisan County, the coordinated development with Tongzhou is a rare opportunity.

In February 2004, the Economic Development Department of the National Development and Reform Commission convened the heads of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei development and reform departments, and held a Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regional economic development strategy seminar in Langfang, and reached a "Langfang Consensus" on some principles. In November of that year, the Development and Reform Commission carried out the compilation of the "Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Metropolitan Area Regional Plan" and reported it in 2010.

In 2013, Xi Jinping went to Tianjin and Hebei to inspect and proposed to promote the coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei. On March 24, the Beijing-Tianjin cooperation agreement was signed. On May 20 and May 22, Hebei Province signed cooperation framework agreements with Tianjin and Beijing, which were detailed and specific.

In 2014, the "Integrated Development Plan for Beisan County, Langfang City (2013-2030)" was completed, and it was proposed that Beisan County should be built as a "Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Coordinated Development Demonstration Zone".

In April 2015, the Outline of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Coordinated Development Plan was reviewed and approved by the Political Bureau of the Central Committee. The outline stated that promoting the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development is a major national strategy, with the core of orderly dissolving Beijing's non-capital functions.

In 2017, Beijing announced the "Master Plan for the City (2016-2030)", which officially included the three counties of the north into the capital's plan: "Realizing the coordinated development of the Beijing City Sub-center and the northern three counties of Langfang." This edition of the City Master Plan states that Tongzhou and Beisan counties are geographically connected and highly interactive. It is necessary to establish an overall coordination mechanism, strengthen cooperation in key areas, and promote the industrial upgrading of Beisan counties to achieve unified planning, unified policies, unified control, and integrated integration. development of.

In January 2019, Beijing issued the “Controlled Detailed Planning of Beijing Urban Sub-center (block level)”. In this version of the detailed control plan, the coordinated development of Tongzhou and Beisan counties has separate chapters to create the “Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region” The "Synergy Development Demonstration Zone" has also become the common goal of the two places.

Compared with the previous Beijing City Master Regulations, the detailed control regulations are based on the "unified planning, unified policies, unified management and control" of the two places, and have added "unified standards". The areas for overall development are also more comprehensive, including spatial pattern, Urban and rural features, ecological environment, comprehensive transportation network, etc.

Under the foundation of a series of plans, the "Development Plan for the Coordinated Development of Tongzhou District, Beijing, and Sanhe, Dachang, and Xianghe County of Hebei Province" released this time is a natural fit.

China Academy of Urban Planning and Design participated in the preparation of the Beijing Municipal Sub-center Regulatory Detailed Plan (block level) and the Beijing Tongzhou District and Hebei Province's Sanhe, Dachang, Xianghe Three-County City Development Plan jobs. Its vice president Wang Kai once said in an interview with China News Weekly that the plans of the two sides have been docked and communicated repeatedly, "especially the coordinated development planning of Tongzhou and Beisan counties, which was impossible in the past."

Transfer and acceptance

Leave at 5 o'clock, start from Yanjiao's home, ride a shared bicycle to the bus station, take the bus and enter Beijing and change to multiple subways. Just before 10 am, I can just catch up with the company outside the North Fifth Ring Road. This is the daily commuting step of an office worker after the unit resumed work in early March this year.

Affected by the epidemic, many inter-provincial bus lines were suspended. As of early March, only one bus from Yanjiao can enter Beijing. In addition, the temperature of people entering Beijing has to be checked at checkpoints, and four or five hours have become a common one-way time-consuming for Yanjiao commuters.

Xiao Jincheng pointed out to China News Weekly that the coordinated development of Tongzhou and Beisan counties would take a lot of time and energy if a checkpoint was still set up in the middle. Especially, it is not necessary to set up a checkpoint in Beijing and Hebei. Out.

The abandonment of the checkpoint is only a section of the coordinated development of this area. The "Planning" announced this time involves many aspects such as spatial pattern, ecological construction, transportation network, industrial development, and public services, all of which are related to people's livelihood.

The industrial layout is the focus of attention of all parties, especially the three northern counties as Beijing's "lying city" has a long history. The first question to answer is whether to continue to follow the real estate model?

The answer is no. In recent years, the development of real estate in Beisan County has been effectively controlled. The "Planning" further pointed out that it is necessary to strictly control the disorderly development of real estate. We will resolutely abandon the development mode that focuses on real estate development, and formulate stricter conditions for access to real estate projects and a mechanism for restricting total annual development.

On this basis, to embark on a healthy development path, one of the core tasks is to "undertake" well.

What industries will be transferred to Tongzhou and Beisan counties? The answer given by the "Planning" is that Beijing's industries "cannot be placed, inseparable, and not far away" emphasize the need for Tongzhou and Beisan counties to carry out a coordinated division of labor on the industrial development focus and the industrial chain.

"Tongzhou District focuses on the layout of cutting-edge technology R & D links, high-end links in technological innovation and services, and the northern three counties focus on achieving industrial synergy with Tongzhou District in pilot incubation links, manufacturing links and supporting service links."

The Plan divides the main areas of Tongzhou and Beisan County into centralized construction of urban functions into one center and four groups. The center is naturally the Beijing City Sub-center. The four groups include Yanjiao Group, Sanhe Group, Xianghe Group, and Tongzhou in Yizhuang New City. section.

The positioning of the group is clear, and the spatial layout of the industry is also clear. According to the Plan, the delegation should be "characteristically distinctive, and work-living balance". Among them, Yanjiao was separated from Sanhe and became a group by itself. "Planning" has most inscribed on the Yanjiao group: "Science and technology innovation, business services, health care and other elderly functions should be developed, public service shortcomings should be complemented, urban quality should be optimized and improved, and a closer functional and cooperative relationship with Beijing's urban sub-centers should be formed. "

In addition, the Sanhe Group will focus on the development of scientific and technological innovation and business service functions; the Xianghe Group will focus on the development of functions such as healthy retirement, smart logistics, and scientific and technological innovation; and the Yizhuang New City (Tongzhou section) will focus on the development of scientific and technological innovation functions and urban comprehensive service functions.

Through industrial development and the realization of the balance of occupation and residence of the various groups, the conditions of tidal traffic in Beisan County and Beijing will be improved to a certain extent. More direct changes need to be achieved through the integration of transportation. The Plan points out several solutions. On the one hand, it is necessary to speed up the internal connection of Beisan County and the backbone roads of Tongzhou and improve the BRT network; on the other hand, it is necessary to build Beijing City Sub-center Station, Yizhuang Station, and Yanjiao Stations, Sanhe Station, and Xianghe Station are supplementary passenger transportation hub systems, and multi-level rail transportation networks such as regional rail express lines (including suburban railways), ordinary rail lines, and regional lines must be formed.

The industry is here, and transportation is improving. What measures do we rely on to retain people? Public Service. This is a work that is already being done. During the National Two Sessions in 2019, Beijing Mayor Chen Jining said in response to a reporter's question that the industry, infrastructure and public services should be extended to the three northern counties of Langfang.

Synergy puzzle

The public service gap between Tongzhou and Beisan counties is still very large, and the public is most concerned about the education and medical fields.

In February 2019, the Beijing Municipal Education Commission, Langfang City Government, and the education authorities of Beisan County jointly studied and formulated the "Cooperation Agreement on Education Development in Beisan County." Both parties will improve the communication and coordination mechanism and policy guarantee mechanism, and implement teaching management and teachers. Training, talent training, and student exchange.

In terms of teaching management, the two sides will establish a cooperative development community of high-quality primary and secondary schools in Beijing, vocational colleges and schools in Beisan County, and deepen counterpart cooperation in school management, teacher training, curriculum construction, and resource sharing. In October 2019, five primary and secondary schools such as Beijing Chaoyang Normal Primary School and a number of primary and secondary schools in Sanhe and Yanjiao signed cooperation agreements to realize the cooperation between the curriculum system and the resources of famous teachers.

According to the "Planning", in the future, it will "encourage the transfer of high-quality educational resources in Beijing to Tongzhou District and Beisan County through cooperation in running schools and establishing branch campuses."

In the medical field, in order to alleviate the plight of few top-three hospitals outside the East Fifth Ring Road, the Plan states that "the health and health service system covering urban and rural areas and equal services should be established, and the infrastructure of hospitals, public health and primary health should be gradually improved and optimized. Layout of service institutions, improving the level of basic medical facilities, and greatly improving the capacity of health services. "

At present, there are many top three general hospitals, such as Friendship Hospital, Peking University People's Hospital, and Anzhen Hospital, in Tongzhou. A number of hospitals in Beisan County have also been assisted, and medical consortia have been set up with many hospitals in Beijing. For example, the first affiliated hospital of Tsinghua University and the Xianghe County Bronchitis and Asthma Hospital established a medical consortium. The former will organize experts to go to Xianghe for consultations and rounds, receive medical training from the latter, and open a two-way referral green channel.

As the development of Beisan County attracts more and more people, how will their household registration be managed?

At the end of the "Plan", there is a paragraph: "Innovative population talent management policy. Tongzhou District strictly implements the Beijing population points settlement system. Hebei Province implements separate management of the household registration system in Beisan County."

At the end of 2019, the General Office of the Central Government and the General Office of the State Council jointly issued documents requiring all places to completely remove restrictions on the settlement of cities with a permanent population of less than 3 million in urban areas, and comprehensively relax the settlement conditions of large cities with a permanent population of 3 to 5 million in urban areas. Beijing is a city with a population of over ten million, and its household registration policy has never been liberalized.

In this case, the "three separate management of household registration system" in Beisan County is very special. Xiao Jincheng believes that "I can't be as restrictive as Beijing or as thresholdless as Hebei". However, further policies are still needed.

It is not difficult to see that the "Planning" covers all aspects of different administrative regions. To achieve coordinated development, coordination is essential and difficult.

Wang Kai, deputy director of the China Academy of Standards, once cited a more typical example of "China News Weekly", namely the ecological environment protection on both banks of the Chaobai River. During the visit, they found that the work on one side of Tongzhou is not bad, the green belt is very wide, and the other side is lined with high-rise buildings. It is very close to the river, and the margin ratio in some areas is over 80%. Around Beijing. "

Wang Kai said that both places must curb the development of sidelines and the spread of disorder. According to the unified management and control rules established by the two places, the construction of both sides of the Chaobai River must be retreated to reduce the marginal rate. Some projects that have already been approved will be withdrawn if they do not meet the plan and cannot be rebuilt. "The most important thing is to break the mindset of" one acre and three points of land "and coordinate and negotiate on a regional scale."

This will be a great challenge for the development of the two places. How can the two sides communicate effectively, and who pays for the money?

Xiao Jincheng pointed out that it is easy to talk about soldiers on paper, but putting it into practice involves an important question, who will pay for it. This issue is not included in the Plan. Beisan County is a county-level administrative unit, and its financial strength is not strong compared to Tongzhou. If the transportation problem is to be solved, how to establish the investment subject? Xiao Jincheng suggested that the two places can provide a certain amount of capital to jointly establish a trading company, and then issue bonds or borrow money from banks, and the company can be unified in construction and operation management.

Of course, this is just one part of it. In the overall plan of the Yangtze River Delta's integrated development demonstration zone, the NDRC proposed that this small area would "strengthen overall planning and top-level design. Under the framework of cross-provincial administrative regions, no administrative affiliation, and involving multiple parallel administrative subjects, Explore a common code of conduct for integrated advancement to form a new supply of the system. "

This is what Tongzhou and Beisan counties need to explore.

"China News Weekly" No. 11 of 2020

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