Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei megalopolis intended as showcase for economic reform

Unlike other regional economic plans that focus mainly on development, the integration of the metropolises of Beijing and Tianjin with Hebei province will be more about implementing reform, analysts say.

A development plan for cooperation between the two cities and Hebei (known collectively by their traditional characters Jing-Jin-Ji) was recently submitted for approval by the State Council, following the personal intervention of President Xi Jinping.

Along with Premier Li Keqiang and other leaders, Xi is attempting to restructure the world's second-largest economy following three decades of breakneck growth.

The Jing-Jin-Ji integration programme "calls for measures to promote structural reforms on all fronts", said Jianguang Shen, chief China economist with Mizuho Securities, in a research report on the project.

"We believe the plan is paramount to promoting China's economic restructuring and consumption-driven sustainable growth."

The 216,000 square kilometre region surrounding the capital is home to more than 100 million people and has a combined gross domestic product of more than 6 trillion yuan (HK$7.6 trillion), making it the country's third main economic engine after the Pearl River Delta and Yangtze River Delta.