China's Xiong'an new city will be made to succeed

Subject

The Xiong'an New Area project.

Significance

A detailed plan to build a city from scratch in Xiong'an, Hebei province, is to be completed by the end of the month. The project, announced by President Xi Jinping on April 1, aims to relocate Beijing's "non-capital functions" to alleviate Beijing's overcrowding, congestion, water scarcity and air pollution, and is intended eventually to be 'China's Silicon Valley'.

Impacts

• Xiong'an will receive massive investment over the next decade, whether it grows 'organically' or not.
• A successful Xiong'an would be a triumph for China's economic planners over market-championing sceptics.
• Unlike in Shenzhen and Shanghai, Beijing does not appear to envisage a large foreign role in Xiong'an.
• Attracting talent in the technology sector will depend in part on offering a more pleasant living environment, which Xiong'an hopes to do.