Xiongan to be assisted by Beijing

Plans include support for schools, transportation and innovation

Beijing rolled out a series of plans on Monday to support the development of Xiongan New Area, aiming to help the new economic zone become the major center for the city's noncapital functions.

The planned new area in Hebei province, announced in April, is about 100 kilometers southwest of Beijing and is dubbed one of the two wings of the capital.

Beijing will support Xiongan in eight areas - working mechanisms, scientific and technological innovation, transportation, environment, industries, public services, planning and design and talent exchange - according to a strategic cooperation agreement signed by the two sides last week.

The Beijing Municipal Commission of Development and Reform detailed the agreement at a news conference on Monday.

"We will use our advantages in different areas, such as innovation, education and medical care, to cooperate with Xiongan for meeting its most urgent needs," a commission official was quoted as saying by Beijing Daily.

Under the agreement, Beijing, as a center of innovation, will promote its innovative resources - such as the Zhongguancun Science Park - to transfer resources or establish branches in Xiongan.

A counterpart of the park will be set up in the new area as a base for high-end innovation and startups.

To support innovative projects, a special fund under a current Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cooperative development fund is being studied.

For easier transportation, construction of high-speed railways between Beijing and Xiongan will be accelerated under the agreement. Also, the Beijing-Xiongan rail line, currently under construction as an upgrade from an old line, will be put into operation in 2019. A one-way trip will take only 30 minutes, shaving about an hour off the current time.

A new expressway directly linking the two will also be built.

To improve Xiongan's public services, an area in which Xiongan is weaker, Beijing will invest in a high-class kindergarten, a primary and a secondary school and a comprehensive hospital, according to the agreement.

They will be managed by first-rate educational and medical institutions chosen from Beijing. The institutions will provide training and talent to support and upgrade the existing local schools and hospitals in Xiongan, which cover Xiongxian, Rongcheng and Anxin counties.

In the areas of infrastructure, Beijing will encourage State-owned companies such as Beijing Energy Investment Holding Co and Beijing Waterworks Group to provide services. The two will also cooperate in protecting the region's environment and developing high-tech industries and up-to-date financial services.

"These projects are just a beginning," the commission said, adding that along with the development of Xiongan, Beijing will carry out collaborative plans on a regular basis.