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Beijing to Become a Green Metropolis: Mayor Liu
Beijing will become a green metropolitan city as China's political and international exchange center and nation's important base for developing intellectual economy in the new century, said Liu Qi, major of Beijing, when receiving an interview of this Daily lately. Being an important base for knowledge innovation, Beijing has its outstanding aspects as shown by a large force of talents and huge sci-tech potential being developed, said Liu. The major task among others for Beijing at the moment is to set up an innovation system in step with that of the nation's. These include: first, focus on hi-tech construction, especially IT industry; second, work for a phalanx of frontier industrial lines such as software and new advances to be made irrespective of a 48 percent market share of software developed; and third, project new industrial undertakings as biologic medicinal production.
Beijing has already achieved some success in software environment construction according to its "428" Innovation Project. Thanks to "Rules Regulating Construction of Zhongguancun Sci-tech Parks" promulgated last year, it has a favorable policy environment created for attracting talents and promoting the development and construction of Zhongguancun Park. As shown by undertakings for traffic, information, communication and sewage treatment construction, marked success has been achieved in the western part of Zhongguancun Park. Beijing has shown its advantages in attracting an increased number of students from abroad for pioneering work at home. There are over 3,000 sci-tech students back home who have consulted with related departments on related issues. Beijing is becoming an incubator for knowledge innovation and hi-tech development. Beijing has been guided by a "three-step" strategy to be initially built into an international city in the first 10 years, develop as a metropolitan city by 2020 and at a medium advanced level in the middle of the 21st Century.
Full modernization construction has already been under way in Beijing. As planned, it will keep its old significant aspects featuring a history of 3000 years for a harmonic development of things of old with the new and an integration of urban construction with improved housing conditions for residents. Beijing needs to improve at least over 9 million square meters of housing, among which 3 million square meters are decrepit housing and 6 million square meters are shabby old makeshifts. The 10th Five-year Plan will prioritize the task in solving the problem and as consequence of this it will by its construction fully reflect the strategy for sustainable development, especially greenery construction. So far, China has got an average urban afforestation rate of more than 27 percent. A municipal average of 34 percent and an urban rate of 36 percent of greenery have been reported in Beijing. During the 10th Five-year Plan period, Beijing targets a yearly one percentage point growth of greenery, which, as a result, will promote the afforestation rate to hit 41 percent, and in mountainous areas, 70 percent. In recent years, Beijing has initially succeeded in cleaning up atmospheric pollution. More effective measures will be adopted on a city scale to bring all naked open grounds, building sites and other barren lands under greenery in Beijing.
Urbanization has become one of the major topics for the implementation of the 10th Five-year Plan. Liu Qi said that Beijing will give up its urban enlargement method of old. It has defined its city size as 1,000 square meters with six marginal groups, 10 satellite cities and 30 satellite towns. Of these, two or three have taken shape. Every satellite city has been planned to accommodate 100,000 to 200,000 residents. Kernel towns will be 30 to be built in city-administered counties and every county is to claim two or three of these towns. A hi-tech zone, centering on Peking University, Tsinghua University and Zhongguancun, will be formed in vicinity of the 4th ring road. A central business district (CBD) is to be built as an important national commercial center in the east of the city; a modern scientific and education district has been planned in the west; down town is to be city's political and cultural center and of the nation's. Presently the proportion of Beijing's primary, secondary and tertiary industry is 4%, 39%, 58.3% respectively, of which, the tertiary industry ranks first in China and will develop at an accelerated pace to take 60 percent of the municipal whole.
As an international city, Beijing always gives close attention to building a perfect market system. A fact to be noted, it has already a good market order built when compared with other cities and areas in China. Beijing has launched its anti-counterfeit fight in a bid to protect the intellectual property rights of investors by which it has won wide commendation from foreign investors in China and abroad. Meanwhile, a green food security system is being worked out to rule out all possible fake shoddy products for safe food supply. Now Beijing is working hard to set up an institution for quality and security inspection. A safe food supply chain covering the city from production to transportation, market and residents is being built.
Mayor Liu told reporter of this Daily his confidence that in the face of the opportunities brought about by the 2008 Olympic Bid, Beijing will show its full vitality for colorful modernity construction with an old history and culture developed.
By PD Online staff member Du Minghua
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