The regional plan for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei metropolitan circle has been submitted to the State Council, or cabinet for approval, and is expected to come out before the end of this year, according to insiders.
The plan to be released will give a clear position for the future development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province.
Beijing will be positioned as a capital city, international city, famous cultural city, and habitable city, and will give priority to the development of tertiary industry; Tianjin will be cast as an international port city, economic center in North China and habitable city; and Hebei province will focus on building raw material and heavy chemical base, modern agriculture base, resort base, and manufacturing base.
The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei metropolitan circle covers two municipal cities of Beijing and Tianjin, and eight cities in Hebei province, namely Shijiazhuang, Qinhuangdao, Tangshan, Langfang, Baoding, Cangzhou, Zhangjiakou, and Chengde.
In 2009, Beijing's GDP exceeded one trillion yuan, Tianjin's GDP reached 750 billion yuan, while GDP of the above mentioned cities in Hebei were relatively low, with GDP of Shijiazhuang and Tangshan topping 300 billion yuan.
Experts hold it will take a pretty long time for Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province to complete integration.
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