Wednesday marks the 11th anniversary of the coordinated development initiative in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (Jing-Jin-Ji) region.
Since its inception as a national strategy in 2014, the region has achieved significant milestones, with its combined economic output surpassing 6 trillion yuan milestones and reaching 11.5 trillion yuan (roughly $1.6 trillion) in 2024, according to a press conference held by the joint working office on February 20.
The initiative was launched to address challenges such as traffic congestion, pollution, and uneven development among the three regions. By relocating non-capital functions from Beijing, the strategy aims to create a more balanced economic structure and improve public services across the region.
Enhanced Public Services
Over the past year, significant progress has been made in infrastructure and public services. For instance, the Beijing and Hebei sections of Changtong Road, connecting Tongzhou District in Beijing to Dachang Hui Autonomous County in Langfang City, Hebei Province, were completed and opened simultaneously.
This has reduced travel time between Dachang County and Tongzhou by approximately 30 minutes, with the road now handling an average daily traffic volume of over 11,000 vehicles, according to Zhao Tongan, an official from the Hebei Provincial Transportation Department.
Additionally, the customized express bus service for commuters around Beijing expanded its network, adding new routes to Xiong'an New Area and Wuqing. The network now comprises 11 main lines and 39 branch lines.
Taking the customized express bus network between Beijing and Hebei as an example, the network consisting of 34 round-trip routes operated a total of 71,000 trips in 2024, making more than 1.61 million passenger trips, Zhao said.
Efforts to improve healthcare access have also been noteworthy. Over the past 11 years, 115 regional medical consortia have been established across the three regions, covering 11 cities and Xiong'an New Area.
For example, Beijing Children's Hospital has dispatched over 420 experts to Baoding Children's Hospital, assisting in the treatment of complex conditions such as pediatric cancer and stem cell transplantation, said Wang Jianhui, deputy director of Beijing Municipal Health Commission.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
