Harmonious Development in Langfang

By MEI LING

Langfang has had municipal administrative status since 1989. This young city is 40 kilometers east of the national capital of Beijing and 60 kilometers west of China’s largest port city of Tianjin. It has a convenient transportation network. The Beijing-Shanhaiguan, Beijing-Shanghai, Beijing-Kowloon (Hong Kong), Datong-Qinhuangdao and Tianjin-Bazhou trunk railways, and the Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu, Beijing-Shenyang and Tianjin-Baoding expressways all run through it. It has, in addition, easy access to Beijing and Tianjin international airports and the super-large cargo port of Tianjin. Langfang is part of a “golden belt” concentration of developed industrial and commercial businesses and markets that satisfy the purchasing power of residents of its dense mass of cities.

Langfang has been called “a bright pearl in the middle of the Beijing-Tianjin Corridor,” an epithet it has lived up to by successfully exploiting its favorable geographic advantages. Langfang’s urban per capita disposable income has ranked first in Hebei for the past three years, and rural per capita net income has been top in the province for the past nine years.

As its economy continues rapid growth, social undertakings have also leapfrogged in Langfang, its many indexes occupying provincially and nationally advanced positions. In a recent evaluation of comprehensive competitiveness among 200 cities, Langfang bagged 60th place. It is the only medium-sized city in China to have passed the ISO14001 environment management system accreditation. In recent years it has also been named outstanding tourist city of China, nationally advanced city in urban construction, scientifically and technologically advanced city of China, and one of the top 50 safe credit and investment environment areas. Langfang has received the China Human Settlement Environment Award and been made permanent venue for the Hebei 5.18 Economic and Trade Talks; China (Langfang) Agricultural Product Trade Fair; Northeast Asia and the Bohai Sea Rim International Cooperation Forum; and International Financial Forum.

Friends and Neighbors

The municipal government believes that coordinated regional development is vital within a market economy, and has tried to find its position within the national development framework and future development trends. Through comparisons with its advanced neighbors, Langfang has obtained a better understanding of its own situation and become clear about its development goals, which it has found opportunities to achieve since the recent emergence of the Greater Beijing Economy and Olympic Economy. Due to its efforts a large number of scientific and technological research institutes from highly esteemed institutions, such as Beijing and Tsinghua universities, the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Ministry of Information Industry, have established their work bases in Langfang. Their entry has provided intelligence and technology support for the city’s development.

On February 12 and 13 last year, the State Development and Reform Commission summoned the Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Development and Reform Commissions to a seminar in Langfang to discuss a coordinated economic development strategy. The seminar reached a “Langfang Understanding” and decided to start drawing up an overall plan for development in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region and specific plans for key areas of construction, with the ultimate aim of their coordinated development of urbanization, infrastructure construction, industrial layout, resource exploitation and utilization, and ecological and environmental conservation. Meanwhile, a consultation mechanism among the Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei Development and Reform Commissions was also established, through which the three sides agreed to set up the mayor/governor joint conference system without delay.

On June 26, 2004 the Bohai Sea Rim Coordination Mechanism Conference in Langfang introduced a joint conference mechanism wherein government officials, entrepreneurs and experts can meet regularly to discuss relevant issues. The conference proposed establishment of a regular cooperation commission in Langfang to handle day-to-day affairs, as well as regular meetings and discussions.

On August 25, 2004 the first Northeast Asia and Bohai Sea Rim International Cooperation Forum convened in Langfang. Participants included government officials from relevant countries and regions and representatives from the eight provincial-level administrations around the Bohai Sea, including Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Liaoning, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia and Henan. The forum marked three “firsts”: the first meeting of the Bohai Sea “family” members, the first meeting between the Bohai Sea family and Northeast Asia, and the first meeting of government officials and business and academic circles of different localities within the region.

An increasing amount of capital has meanwhile flowed into Langfang, and more and more products have passed through it on to the national market, for example, Langfang beef and pollution-free vegetables, Huari Furniture, Nippon Paint, Orion Food, and Han Wang Software. So far, 14 of the world’s top 500 enterprises have invested in Langfang, and more than 80 Langfang-made products are exported to over 40 countries. The Xinao Group, originally a local enterprise in Langfang, has expanded into a billion-yuan business, with branches in more than 20 provinces, as well as in Hong Kong, Sydney and London.

In 2002, Langfang led the country in promoting ISO9001 quality control system certification among government departments. The municipal administration set itself the goal of becoming the most efficient government among cities of the same level. Over the past three years, the municipal government has streamlined its 1,488 examination and approval items and successfully reduced them by 52 percent. Having introduced the Langfang Economic and Technological Development Zone where a comprehensive administrative service hall was successfully established, the municipal government has set up a similar service center in which 42 government departments provide joint services for 327 examination and approval items. The chief representative of the Orion Food Co., Ltd., an ROK invested business, came to the center prepared to spend days completing the registration procedures within different government departments, but it actually took him only 10 minutes upon presenting the required documents.

In Tune with the Environment

Langfang’s economic development has taken into account ecological conservation. The municipal government sees projects as migrating birds that nest in a congenial environment. Competition for projects among cities is, therefore, generally based on the greenest environment. With this in mind, Langfang municipal administration works on the principle that rapid economic development should not occur at the cost of the environment, for example, introducing a few projects as a means of immediate gain. Instead, emphasis should be placed on building a healthy environment that will attract capital, technology, projects and human resources. Put into practice, this principle has proved effective in propelling local development.

In 2001 Beijing decided to implement the Green Olympics strategy. This entailed moving manufacturing enterprises within the Third Ring Road to the city outskirts. One such enterprise decided to move to the Langfang Economic and Technological Development Zone. At a one-billion-yuan investment that would generate 100 million yuan in revenue, this project was a potentially lucrative addition to the zone, whose entire tax revenue for 2001 stood at 280 million yuan. But as the project would have been a heavy water consumer, Langfang rejected it. On the other hand, Langfang played an active role in introduction of projects in conformity with its development plan, such as the China International Covenanted Environmental Protection Industrial Park and Tsinghua Sci-tech Park. Wu Xianguo, secretary of the CPC Langfang Municipal Committee, urges local government officials to think in terms of long-term development and work cautiously and conscientiously for the future of the city, rather than concentrate on immediate personal administrative achievements.

In recent years many new residents have moved into housing projects that have been built in Langfang. Old and new residents are happy to live in a new city that is “built inside a park.” The local government is promoting and applying the new concept “Environment is also a productive force” as a guideline for urban construction. The municipal government prefers Langfang to compete with Beijing and Tianjin on the basis of the smoothest traffic and highest green coverage rather than the most high-rise buildings and private cars. Langfang’s vision of itself is that of an environmental-friendly, science and technology city that is the perfect venue for exhibitions and conventions and also attracts tourism.

Langfang’s urban construction is based on a return to nature. The city has turned a 159-hectare windbreak planted in the 1960s into a forest park with forest coverage of more than 90 percent. Between 2002 and 2003, it promoted the state policy of “restoring farmland to its original forested state” and has built two 5,000-hectare ring green belts. Langfang is actively building itself into an ISO14000 state demonstration area.

Over the years the city has worked hard to create an environment of blue sky, crystalline water, fertile soil, and tranquillity that make it an idyllic place to live and work.