Beijing will continue to limit its development. This was announced Monday, June 27 by its leaders at the 13th Congress of the Communist Party of the Chinese capital, which has lost 15% of its inhabitants in less than a decade. The authorities want to continue to move structures, in particular to combat pollution.
With our correspondent in Beijing, Stephane Lagarde
In China, the bull is not seized by the horns, but by the muzzle (“牛鼻子”): the expression returned on Monday June 27, as every time the authorities are faced with a challenge. And that of shrinking the Chinese capital is one of them, or at least of trying to contain its expansion.
The big move
In five years, Beijing has become the first Chinese megalopolis to reduce its development “, Note the state media, figures in support. Nearly 2,000 so-called “factories not essential » have been relocated, more than 200 million m2 of buildings qualified as « illegal » were demolished, when the area of building land decreased by 110 km2. Finally, 640 wholesale markets and logistics centers have also been moved.
The objective is to slow down population growth and control pollution. The big move started with the relocation of the Shougang steelworks in 2011an industrial site that has become a cultural and sports center which hosted the jumping events for the last Winter Olympics.
Beijing had 21.9 million inhabitants at the last census in November 2020, 15% less than in 2014, underline the Beijing News.
In 2025, it will not exceed 23 million. For this, the former forbidden city will continue to offload its activities towards the east and the large port of Tianjin, but also towards new towns like Xiongandestined to become the future green and high-tech administrative capital.
In the meantime, Beijing and the neighboring province of Hebei are recovering several months of health restrictions related to the Omicron resurgence and the “Zero Covid” strategy. ” They ask us to plant treesrecently confided to us a peasant woman, we must first earn our living. »