New think tank to advise on planning of Xiongan New Area

China has established a high-level think tank to advise on the design of Xiongan New Area, a new economic zone about 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing.

Photo taken on April 9, 2017 shows a village in Baiyangdian, one of the largest freshwater wetlands in north China, in Anxin County, north China's Hebei Province. China announced the plan for Xiongan New Area officially on April 1, 2017. The new area will span Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin counties in Hebei Province, eventually covering 2,000 square kilometers. [Xinhua/Mou Yu]

The institution is affiliated to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS).

Following the success of the country's two economic zones in the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta regions, Xiongan will promote high-level coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei and accelerate the formation of a world-class city cluster, said CASS President Wang Weiguang.

Xiongan will serve as a new home for Beijing's "non-capital" functions, and drive the development of neighboring Hebei Province, said Xiao Jincheng, a researcher with National Development and Reform Commission.

The area needs a new mode of property development and will become a pilot zone for the housing system with Chinese characteristics, said Ni Pengfei with CASS.

China announced in April plans to establish the Xiongan New Area. It covers Hebei's Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin counties. Authorities are seeking advices worldwide to develop the area.

A total of 183 global design teams will compete for the right to design Xiongan New Area, after northern China's Hebei Province invited international bids in late June.

Some 12 design teams will be selected to proceed to the next round of onsite consulting with local government officials and experts, before they submit a design plan on Aug. 20.