The Heat: The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei economic zone

The Heat

A new-mega metropolis is emerging in Northern China. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integration plan affects a total population of more than 100 million people. Will this be the new model for China’s urbanization of the future?

Another question being asked is: what are the challenges that lay ahead?

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei economic zone is the biggest urbanized region in Northern China. Its full integration aims to combine Beijing’s culture and high-tech industries with Tianjin’s port facilities and the resources of the Hebei province. But uneven development over the past decade resulted in some serious problems.

So, earlier this year, officials re-dedicated national efforts to bring the region along, launching a strategic plan to enhance coordination.

CCTV America’s Hou Yun filed this report from Beijing.

The Heat discussed the economic potential of this zone with the following:

  • From Beijing, Professor Zhang Li, chair of the Architecture Department at Tsinghua University joined the show.
  • From Boston, Zhao Jinhua, assistant professor of Urban Planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology also joined The Heat.
  • From St. Louis is Wendell Cox, who is the Principal of Demographia, an International public policy firm.
  • Kathy Pain, the co-Director of the international Globalization and World Cities Network heading up Global City Planning also weighed in.