Capital's chief to serve the people

Beijing's new Party chief Guo Jinlong said on Tuesday the new leadership of the capital's municipal Party committee will make every effort to serve the people by solving the most concerning problems related to public welfare.

Guo Jinlong (center), Party chief and mayor of Beijing, waves to the press after the city's Party congress, which elected him to be the Party chief of the capital, on Tuesday. Wei Xiaohao / for China Daily

"The standing committee must at all times and under all circumstances adhere to the Party's mass line, and regard the people's interests as the starting point and goal of all our work," said Guo, who became the municipality's new Party secretary in a decision announced at the end of the 11th Beijing Municipal Party Congress.

Guo, 64, has been the city's mayor since 2008. He has replaced Liu Qi, 69, as the capital city's top official.

Wang Anshun and Ji Lin were appointed as deputy Party chiefs of Beijing, while a total of 13 people were appointed as members of the standing committee.

Guo told reporters that the municipal Party committee will be persistent in the reform progress and will continue to solve problems regarding employment, housing, education, medical care, social security, environment and transportation, which were the top concerns of the people in Beijing.

He also emphasized that members of the standing committee must always be honest and remain uncorrupted.

The leadership reshuffle in the capital city means the 31 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities on the mainland have all completed changeovers of local Party committees before the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China later this year.

The capital city also released a blueprint of its future development during the municipal Party congress.

Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform Deputy Director and Spokesman Zhao Lei said the capital's authorities will unveil a new three-year plan to develop the southern part of the city before the end of this year.

Zhao said the southern part of Beijing has undergone rapid growth over the past three years. Total investment in fixed assets in the three southern districts, Fengtai, Fangshan and Daxing, last year was more than 1.5 times that in three districts in the north - Haidian, Changping and Chaoyang.

He also said the figure increased by 68 percent compared with that in 2008.

Zhao said in the next three years the southern parts of the city will shift their development path from a government-sponsored economy to one that is market-driven. The region will focus more on improving its public service standards than infrastructure construction.

High-end industry, such as the installation of rail tracks, a green belt zone along the Yongding River, medical care and education will all be enhanced.

The details of the new plan will be disclosed later this year, Zhao said.

Moreover, a regional development plan for the capital's economy was being drafted to link the capital city with neighboring Tianjin municipality and Hebei province for closer cooperation, Zhao said.

Han Jie, spokesman of the Beijing municipal finance bureau, said on Monday that last year the city had invested more than 70 percent of the local government revenue in fields that improve public welfare, such as education, employment, social security, medical care, environment protection and transportation.

Contact the writer at tanzonggyang@chinadaily.com.cn