By Lan Zongmin, Research Team on "Study on New Strategic Areas Supporting China's Future Economic Growth", Department of Development Strategy and Regional Economy, the DRC

Research Report No 154, 2015 (Total 4839)

Abstract:

New strategic areas bear huge significance for adapting to and guiding the new normal and promoting steady and continued economic growth. As industries gradually transfer to inland areas, it becomes especially important to nourish new strategic areas in the central region. Taking counties as the basic unit for analysis and based on requirements of structural transformation and factor concentration, this paper constitutes an index system involving six aspects of industrialization, urbanization, income, employment, funds and transport and selects from among 492 counties and county-level municipalities the ones with promising potentials to become new strategic areas in the future. If these areas want to become new growth poles, it is necessary for the government to create a systematic environment and offer potent policy support for their sound development. This paper suggests that the government intensify support to major cities and city clusters, accelerate building of transport infrastructure network so as to promote regional integration of the central region, strengthen economic coordination between central-region counties and facilitate county-level industrialization and urbanization in a coordinated manner.