Chinanews, Beijing, Dec. 18 – The State Development and Reform Commission (SDRC) on Friday issued a notification saying that the State Council has approved designating the Wuhan city ring and three cities in Hunan, namely Changsha, Zhuzhou and Xiangtan as the trial zones for the state's construction of a resource conservation and environmental-friendly society.

 

Wuhan city ring and the Changsha - Zhuzhou – Xiangtan city group have always been regarded as the two heavy industrial and manufacturing bases in China.

 

Wuhan city ring refers to a local circuit area, which with Wuhan as the center, stretches 100 kilometers away around Wuhan. The eight cities inside the circuit area, namely Huangshi, Ezhou, Huanggang, Xiaogan, Xianning, Xiantao, Qianjiang and Jiangmen, will work together as a regional integrated economic entity. Covering less than one-third of the territorial area of Hubei Province, the city ring takes up half of the population of Hubei and contributes to over 60% of the local GDP. It is not only the core development center in Hubei, it is actually a strategic base that will help realize the resurgence of the central region in China. Statistics show that Wuhan city ring has become the most rapidly developed area in Hubei and it leads the economic progress in the province. In 2006, the GDP in Wuhan city ring reached 459.89 billion yuan, 13.5% more than last year and accounting for 61.3% of the total GDP in Hubei.

 

The Changsha - Zhuzhou – Xiangtan city group is located in the northeastern part of Hunan Province. It covers a total area of 28,000 square kilometers. In 2006, the population in this area reached 13 million and its total economic output hit 281.8 billion yuan, with Changshan contributing to 13.3%, Zhuzhou contributing to 19.2% and Xiangtan contributing to 37.8%, respectively, of the economic output in Hunan. It is the region that enjoys the fastest economic development in Hunan. The Changsha - Zhuzhou – Xiangtan city group serves as an intermediate region between Beijing-Guangzhou economic zone, the Pearl River Delta economic zone and the Yangtze River Delta economic zone. The city group enjoys a good geographical location and a relatively advanced transportation.

 

This is the fourth reform base designated by the State Council. Previously, the State Council approved selecting the Shanghai Pudong New District, the Tianjin Binhai New District and the western region's Chongqing and Chengdu cities as the trial zones for the state's comprehensive reform. The designation of the fourth reform base demonstrates the state's determination to quicken the development of the central region and to promote a harmonious development among different regions. It also means that the general outline for China's reform and development has taken a basic shape, some scholars say.