On the move: Beijing’s blueprint to cap population
Guidelines lay out controls on 10 key areas and set timetable for the capital to shift its non-core functions to neighbouring regions
Beijing is expected to roll out further measures to cap its population as part of its plan to integrate with Tianjin and Hebei province.
The State Council has drafted a 51-page blueprint with a concrete timetable for the capital to shift part of its population along with its non-core functions to neighbouring regions, according to report on Wednesday on the financial news site Prism.
The plan called for strict controls on 10 areas affecting the capital's population, including the number of students and the expansion of universities and medical institutions.
State-owned enterprises outside Beijing will be strictly prohibited from moving their headquarters to the capital, and financial institutions will be prevented from setting up new service centres there.
The non-core functions of the capital - certain industries, public service institutions and administrations - must move out of the city by 2020.
People will be able to commute between Beijing, Tianjin and Baoding in Hebei within one hour by 2017, according to the blueprint.
The document was issued to the Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei governments earlier this year.
With a population of 20 million, the crowded capital is plagued by congestion, air pollution and other development problems.
Last week, Beijing's development and reform commission said "non-core functions" included four areas: manufacturing, logistics and wholesale markets, some educational and medical institutions, and some administrations.
The blueprint explained these areas in further detail.
It said companies not driven by technological innovation would be relocated outside the capital, as would the production and processing stages for high-end manufacturing.
Backroom operations of financial institutions - such as electronic banking, data centres and call centres - will be moved beyond Beijing's third ring road.
Undergraduate education services at some universities will also be moved, leaving the venues for graduate students and research.
According to the State Council blueprint, Beijing will be the country's political and cultural centre, and a centre for international exchange and technological innovation.
It envisages Tianjin as a base for advanced manufacturing, a core zone for international shipping, a demonstration zone for creative financial operations and a pilot zone for reform and opening up.
Hebei will become a base for modern commercial logistics, a testing zone for industrial transformation, and an ecological and environmental support zone for the region.
