During a visit to the Xiongan New Area, Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the area to be transformed into an innovation hub to drive high-quality development, a project intended to alleviate pressure on China's capital, Beijing. During an inspection on Monday of the area in Hebei province, approximately 100km (62 miles) southwest of Beijing, Xi visited the state-owned power company China Huaneng and a local school, according to Xinhua state news agency.
At a forum, Xi said the area should be "driven by reform and innovation," and must prioritize the construction of a technology park, applying more science and technology to its development. He emphasized the need to promote emerging and future industries and urged the local government to "boldly explore and pilot trials" to ensure that innovative policies in areas such as technology and finance are implemented first.
However, Xi praised the overall project and stated that construction in the area was on track. "It is proven that the Central Committee's decision to establish the Xiongan New Area is entirely correct," he said. He also pointed out that the area's function is to help decentralize the capital and absorb projects that are not essential to Beijing, including some state-owned companies, universities, hospitals, financial institutions, and research institutes.