Employees work on a lithium battery production line in Huaibei, Anhui province. [Photo by Wan Shanchao/China Daily]
4. Create a Beautiful Central Region with Harmony Between Humanity and Nature
The central region should jointly form an ecological security barrier and cherish the principle that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets. To set ecological conservation red lines, environmental quality bottom lines, and resource utilization limits in every environmental management and control unit, and establish a full coverage ecological environment management and control system. Prioritizing the protection of water resources. Specifically, to strengthen the water management and protect the natural coastlines and water ecological environment, to implement a ten-year ban on fishing in the Yangtze River, and protect the rare and endangered aquatic life. To shoulder the key tasks of ecological restoration, water and soil conservation of the Yellow River Basin. To promote the construction of the ecological corridors along Huaihe River, Hanjiang River, Xiangjiang River, Ganjiang River, Fenhe River, etc., and establish a system for protected areas with national parks as the mainstay.
In terms of environmental protection and pollution control, the guideline says compensation mechanisms for ecological protection and damage should be implemented, while prominent environmental problems in the region should be addressed. With a focus on city clusters and metropolitan areas, the region should coordinate efforts to prevent and control air pollution, and promote air pollution treatment in key industries, according to the document. Focusing on the Yangtze River and the Yellow River, the central region should speed up to establish an ecological compensation mechanism to restore the water ecological environment. To accelerate the pollution control in urban sewage, farmland soil, livestock manure, tailings pond, ship, and noise, etc.
Promoting green ways of life and work, improving the circular transformation while supporting to build a batch of circular economy demonstration cities and demonstration parks. To carry out the creative action of green office, green home, green school, green community, green building, etc., and encourage green and low-carbon ways of life, such as green consumption and green travel. To advance the construction of energy service systems in rural areas. The region should also make efforts to conduct the market-oriented trading of permits for pollution discharge, energy use, water use, and carbon emissions. And carrying out pilot projects for the construction of “zero-waste city” in Xuchang, Tongling, Ruijin, etc.
5. Form a New High-level Opening-up System of Inland
To Speed up the construction of inland opening-up corridor, the region should speed up the development of transportation in the region, including accelerating the construction of high-speed railways across the region, implementing the route improvement projects of Hanjiang River, Xiangjiang River, Ganjiang River, and Huaihe River, research to promote the formation of waterway corridor, building the waterway center of middle reaches of the Yangtze River in Wuhan, the international logistic center in Zhengzhou, the airfreight shipping centers in Ezhou and Hefei. To actively promote Changsha, Hefei, Nanchang, and Taiyuan to build regional hubs with their characteristics. To enhance the collaboration with the Yangtze River Delta, Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, west coast of the Taiwan Straits, as well as the border ports in Inner Mongolia, Guangxi, Yunan, and Xinjiang, connect with the New Eurasian Land Bridge, China-Indochina Peninsula，China-Central Asia-West Asia Economic Corridor，China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor, and the new western land-sea corridor, completely involved in the delivery of “the Belt and Road Initiative”.
To build an inland high-level opening-up platform, the country should urge continued efforts to develop pilot free trade zones in the provinces of Anhui, Henan, Hubei, and Hunan to a high standard. To support Xiangjiang New District and Ganjiang New District to build major opening-up platforms, encourage Wuhan, Nanchang, Hefei, Taiyuan, etc. to build airport economic zones, promote the construction of opening-up economic pilot zone in Jiangxi. Besides, the guideline also mentioned the measures to build comprehensive pilot zones for cross-border e-commerce, comprehensive bonded zones, and national-level open ports. Particularly, enhancing the cooperation and connectivity with other border ports in the Belt and Road countries.
The guideline says efforts should be made to optimize a business environment that is market-oriented, rule-based, and internationalized. Promoting reform in simplifying administration and delegating power, combining decentralization and management, and optimizing services. To build a market system prevailing international rules, enhance the end-to-end supervision, create a market environment where enterprises under all types of ownership are treated as equals and compete on a level playing field. To support all types of enterprises to develop, including improving the development condition of small and micro enterprises, relaxing location restrictions on business registration applying to micro and small enterprises and self-employed people, and making it easier to register and start a business, and accessing timely policy support.
6. Promote the Protection of Public Service
To enhance the region's ability to provide public services, authorities should carefully review the experience gained from COVID-19 control, strengthen the public health system. The central region should accelerate the standardization of hospitals for infectious diseases and centers for disease control and prevention, and improve the ability of urban and rural communities to provide medical services. To promote medical and insurance information sharing, improve the direct settlement of hospitalized expenses in places away from people’s hometowns. To set up a national service platform for employment information, encourage people to work across the country with multi-channel flexibility, support migrant works, graduates, and veterans to work in their hometowns. To enhance the living allowance standard for orphans and unsupported children, promote the children welfare institution to improve quality and transform for development. To improve the care service system for the left-behind elderly in rural areas and build facilities for community elderly care services in rural areas as well. To establish a basic public service standard system and adjust properly, while promoting the delivery of public service policy including the residence card system for migrant residents in terms of education and housing.
The supply of high-quality public goods, such as world-class universities and large-scale medical institutions, should be increased in the region, the guideline says, specifying that world-renowned universities will be encouraged to run schools in partnership with local institutions, while large-scale comprehensive medical institutions are welcome to set up subsidiaries in the region. County-level and township (community-level) medical consortiums are welcomed to establish to improve the service of medical institutions at the primary level. In-depth exploring and using of local characteristic cultural resources, branding the Central Plains culture, Chu culture, Sanjin culture, etc. The red culture of old revolutionary base areas such as the Central Revolutionary Base, Jianggang Mountains Area, and Dabie Mountains Area should be protected and promoted as patriotism education bases and red tourism attractions. To actively develop industries including cultural creative, radio and television, animation and game, digital publication, etc., promote the construction of a national demonstration base of culture and technology, cultural industry demonstration park, and the national porcelain cultural promotion and innovation experimental zone in Jingdezhen. And to increase the support for the construction of sports facilities including the football fields.
Strengthening and innovating social governance. To improve the emergency monitoring and pre-warning system, response platform, and decision-making system, construct regional emergency rescue platform and support center, form emergency response resource reserve and deployment assistance capabilities. Based on the social management information platform, smart cities and communities will be created while the data will be shared among government departments. Promoting digital management for a matrix of urban communities, achieving full coverage of community services. Improving the rural governance system and mechanism, strengthening the self-governance ability of village-level, completely implement the “Sunshine Project” of village-level affairs. Safety community and village should be built under the policy of “one community managed by one police, one village managed by one auxiliary police”. Enhancing the supervision and management of rural traffic safety. Moreover, strengthening rural law education and legal aid, and resolving social conflicts in the rural areas according to the law and regulations.
Making sure that the positive results in poverty elimination are consolidated and become an integral part of rural revitalization. Central Revolutionary Base (Central Soviet Area), Dabie Mountains Area, Taihang Mountain Area, Lyuliang Mountain Area, Luoxiao Mountain Area, and Wuling Mountain Area, etc. should be focused on. To establish a monitoring and assistance mechanism to prevent people return to poverty, help people continue to enjoy the main support policies. And regularly checking on key groups via dynamic monitoring, so that these people do not fall back into poverty. Further improving the infrastructure and market environment, promoting the sustainable development of local special industries according to the local conditions.
7. Improve Policies and Measures to Promote High-quality Development
Establishing a policy support system. The guideline calls for the early implementation of policies to restore the economic and social order of Hubei Province, which was hit hard by the epidemic last year. Underdeveloped counties (cities or districts) in the central region should continue carrying out the policies following the policies for large-scale development in the western region, while old industrial bases should continue implementing policies concerning the revitalization policies of northeast China and adjust and optimize the range and contents of the policies based on the reality. To prioritize the new buildable land indicators for advanced manufacturing, trans-regional infrastructure, and other important projects. Encouraging the movement of talent, and promote the information sharing of employment and the connection of service policy to attract professionals to work and start a business in the central region. Professional and technical personnel, as well as management personnel of state-owned enterprises, will be allowed to work part-time and obtain legal salaries in the central region. To encourage local government to set up special funds for the introduction of talents, and provide talents with household registration without threshold.
In terms of fiscal and financial support, the central government will continue to increase transfer payments to the central region, and local governments can be allocated more bond issuance quotas on the condition that risks are under control. To implement the rewarded and subsidized policy for industrial enterprise technology transformation, take the measure of tariff elimination under the current regulation for the import of self-use equipment. To actively cultivate the regional equity market, offer enterprises an easier financing channel, encourage financial institutions to strengthen the support to the central region in terms of key sectors and weak links, enhance the service quality and efficiency, accessibility and equality.
8. Ensure Organization and Implementation
Strengthening organization and leadership. It is essential to uphold and strengthen the CPC’s overall leadership in accelerating the rise of the central region. Six provinces including Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei, and Hunan should enhance the “Four Consciousnesses”, reinforce the “Four-sphere Confidence”, ensure the “Two Upholds”, specify the primary responsibilities at all levels, improve the coordination mechanism, further the cooperation, ensure effective implementation of all policies.
Enhancing coordination and leadership. Relevant divisions, with their responsibilities, should support the six provinces in the central region in the aspects of planning formulation, major policy implementation, project arrangement, and reform and innovation, etc. The administration should strengthen the guidance, coordinate and solve the major problems, urge to evaluate the implementation effect. All the plans, policies, and projects mentioned in the guideline should be submitted for approval. All important issues should be promptly reported to the CPC Central Committee and the State Council.
Reference:
<http://www.gov.cn/zhengce/2021-07/22/content_5626642.htm>
<http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2021-07/22/c_1310078374.htm>
Edited and translated by Guo Xinxin
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