On October 18, the State Council announced the approval of the Han River Eco-Economic Belt Development Plan to be officially released on November 5. A new-round development opportunities will come for the cities of Hubei, Henan and Shaanxi provinces in the Han River basin, including Nanyang, Xiangyang, Shiyan, etc.

The plan supports Xiangyang in consolidating its role as a provincial sub-center city of Hubei Province, and includes the initiative to speed up the building of Xiangyang into a center city in the Han River basin. These mean that the roles of Xiangyang have been recognized by the State.