Beijing CBD becomes No 1 foreign-related district in China

Chaoyang, Beijing's central business district - or CBD - has now become the “No1 foreign-related district in China”, according to Wang Hao, head of the Chaoyang district government.

"Chaoyang is home to 40 percent of total foreign capital and total imports and exports, 45 percent of Fortune 500 enterprise investment projects, 70 percent of transnational regional headquarters, 80 percent of the international chambers of commerce, 80 percent of international organizations and 90 percent of international media organizations in Beijing,” said Wang, at the 2017 Beijing CBD International Forum.

The forum - themed “Deepening service industry and opening up comprehensive pilot district, optimizing upgrading, accelerating the transformation of driving forces, building a world-class CBD into high standards”- was held on Sept 13 in Beijing.

Wu Guiying, Party chief of the Chaoyang district, and Xu Zhijun, deputy secretary-general of Beijing municipal government, also spoke at the forum.

According to Wu, the GDP of Chaoyang mounted to 500.16 billion yuan ($72.66 billion) in 2016, accounting for 20.1 percent of Beijing's total.

Chaoyang's major economic indicators, including retail sales of consumer goods, utilized foreign capital and the district's import and export volumes, also top any other district in Beijing.

According to the central government, as China's capital, Beijing must be the political center, cultural center, international communication center and technology innovation center of China.

A report to the meeting said that, as the central business district of Beijing, Chaoyang will concentrate on fulfilling three tasks in the future: Coordinated development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, the strategy of building Beijing into four centers and creating an international advanced and livable capital. It will coordinately advance the building of an open supporting zone for service industries, a demonstration zone for national culture integration and innovation, as well as a leading zone for global exchanges.

The district will also act in accordance with the Belt and Road Initiative to enhance its internationalization.

The forum was organized by Development Research Center of the State Council and co-hosted by Chaoyang district government, Beijing CBD Administration Committee and China Development Press.

Two hundred representatives of government bodies, international organizations, multinational companies attended the forum, including those from Belarus, France and Malaysia.