A Pioneer in Regional Economic Integration

By+staff+reporter+LUO+YUANJUN

USUALLY each city has its own area code， but when I called one of my classmates in the U.S. the display on his telephone showed codes for three cities （Changsha， Xiangtan and Zhuzhou）. He was puzzled and asked me whether I had opened companies in all three cities. I told him that as a city group the three cities use a unified area code– one of the results of regional economic integration. My company is in Changsha，” said Wu Ming， who has set up a landscape company in the Changsha Pioneering Park for returned overseas graduates.

Combined Advantages

The integration of Changsha， Zhuzhou and Xiangtan involves taking these cities as a center with a 1.5-hour com- muting radius， covering five other prefectural-level cities： Yueyang， Changde， Yiyang， Loudi and Hengyang. The city group institutes a coordinated governance regarding transportation， resources， information and environment.

As the crow flies， the distance between Changsha and Xiangtan is 40 km， between Changsha and Zhuzhou is 40 km， and between Xiangtan and Zhuzhou is 20 km. With the expansion of urban areas， the actual distance between the cities has been shortened. From the borders of Xiangtan or Zhuzhou to Changsha it is 20 km， and from Zhuzhou to Xiangtan only 10 km. Rapid urbanization may one day eliminate the distance between the cities.

An inter-city railroad for the city group is under construction， with an estimated completion by the end of 2015.“That train， from Changsha to Xiangtan and Zhuzhou， will take less than half an hour. I can then include Xiangtan and Zhuzhou into my scope of business，” Wu Ming observed.

As there is no sub-provincial city in Hunan Province， the grouping of these cities has mustered strong economic power with a diversified industrial structure to improve both the region and Hunan Provinces status in the national economy. The groups combined strength， industrial scale， economic efficiency and other economic indices have surpassed Wuhan in central China， and Chengdu in the western region， standing out among the top 10 economic circles in China.

The integration of the cities has also been beneficial for the overall arrangement of land use， and coordination and distribution of responsibilities， promoting the economic development of each city as well as the whole group. Chen Zhongxiong， an NPC （National Peoples Congress） deputy and mayor of Yiyang， claims that Yiyangs positioning in the city group “would build connections in the region and provide complementary services. We will try to maximize our advantages and minimize our weaknesses in seeking coordinated development.”

Xu Xiangping， deputy secretary of the CPC Working Committee of the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan Pilot Zone and deputy director of the zones administrative committee， pointed out that the inevitable trend is breaking ad- ministrative barriers and integrating regional economy. In 2005 this city group was listed in the countrys 11th Five-year Plan， and in 2006 it was regarded as one of the catalysts of central Chinas economic growth. In 2007， it was listed as a pilot zone for overall reform. In 2008 the National Development and Reform Commission approved construction of a national high-tech industrial base in the zone； and in 2013 this city group was included into the Yangtze River Economic Belt， which is vital for the development of central China.

Financial interests have also offered support to this city group. Wang Xuedong， president of the Hunan Branch of the China Development Bank and deputy to the NPC， mentioned the banks support of the city group. It will promote infrastructure construction for a comprehensive transportation network， sweeping away obstacles to the circulation of productivity elements to spur further progress in the region， and strengthen the sustainable growth of Hunans economy.

Arduous Integration Process

Wu Ming pointed out that the plan for this city group may be traced back to December of 1982， just after the central government approved the establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone， eight years before Shanghais Pudong New Area was developed. He gives credit for its initiation to Zhang Ping， director of the research center for construction of a resource-conserving and environmentally-friendly society.

At that time， Changsha City ranked below 30th in terms of its comprehensive economic strength. The three citiestotal industrial and agricultural output value and total population ranked ninth among Chinas major cities， and their total urban industrial output value ranked 11th. The three cities were confronting many social and economic problems， such as pollution of the Xiangjiang River， rational arrangement of urban systems and major projects， integration of existing industries， technical upgrades， and economic and technological cooperation with foreign companies. It has taken a long time to implement the planning for such a city group.

In June 2002， the Hunan provincial government released an integration plan for Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan industries， demanding unified policies and the avoidance of cutthroat competition， in order to create a more attractive development environment.

In October 2005， the plan was officially approved by the Hunan provincial government， and the provincial Development and Reform Commission released details of the project， signaling the first inland city group plan to be made public. Since 2006， Hunan has been carrying out unified policies regarding planning， financial policies， environmental assessment standards and environmental protection law enforcement.

The provincial government has tried to promote an integration process by carrying out specific projects to balance development in the region， such as the 2011 project to curb heavy-metal pollution in the Xiangjiang River drainage basin， with the cooperation of eight cities to avoid administrative bottlenecks.

In October 2012， a new urbanization program for Hunan （2012-2020） was announced， depicting a vision for future urbanization. The program takes the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan city group as its core. By 2015， the urbanization rate of the city group will reach 70 percent， and the city group will become a super-city， accelerating the speed of urbanization of the whole province.

Zhang Ping remarked that the integration of this city group has been difficult， but has provided guidance for Hunans economy. It has been a creative process， where Hunans need for a super city has been met by this city group.

Resource-conserving， Environmentally-friendly Society

The pilot zone for building a resourceconserving and environmentally-friend- ly society was approved in 2007. After more than one years practice， in January 2009 Hunan Province decided to set up a leading and coordinating committee for building a resource-conserving and environmentally-friendly society pilot zone to replace the Changsha-ZhuzhouXiangtan Economic Integration Office.

Harmony between man and nature is necessary for sustainable development， and is at the heart of transforming economic development modes and peoples lifestyles. Extensive forms of development have been converted to a focus on quality， effectiveness， and balanced development， highlighting low-carbon consumption and a green lifestyle. Hunan expects greater achievements in this field by 2020.

Local law enforcement and new con- struction standards for the city group have been carried out to efficiently administer marketization and introduce a path of innovation for latecomers.

With an environmentally-friendly and resource-conservation focus over the past six years， Hunan has carried out eight system innovations， 106 original reforms， the closure or merger of over 1，300 enterprises， and the rejection of hundreds of unsuitable projects. By the end of 2013， Chi Fulin， president of the China Institute for Reform and Development （CIRD） and leader of the expert team for national comprehensive reform pilot zones， praised the foresight of such closures in terms of their benefits to ordinary people.

The progress of social development， focusing on resource conservation and environmental protection， has helped Hunan win opportunities in relevant industries. In recent years， industries involving new materials and new energy resources， and resource-conserving and environmentally-friendly enterprises have entered the Changsha-ZhuzhouXiangtan pilot zone， securing the formation of the provinces green recycling and low-carbon production mode.

On January 14， 2014， the city groups administrative committee and the Development and Reform Commission of Hunan met with the World Wildlife Fund （WWF） in Changsha on promoting ecological progress and transforming growth models to initiate the Liuyang River pilot program， which is one of the Coca-Cola-WWF water conservation projects （the Yangtze River Beautiful Home Program）.

The public has also participated in the construction of an environmentallyfriendly and resource-conserving society. Over the past six years， government offices， schools， companies， rural and urban communities， farmer cooperatives， stores and scenic sites have all been invited to participate， benefitting individuals as well.

Xu Xiangping remarked that everyone has the responsibility and obligation to promote the building of an environmentally-friendly and resourceconserving society. The idea should be permeated into every link of production and guide the behavior of people throughout society.