Dec. 12 (NBD) -- The 2nd Plenary Session of 13th CPC Chengdu Municipal Committee convened from December 9 to 11. The Session deliberated and passed Decisions by the CPC Chengdu Municipal Committee to Thoroughly Implement Sprit of the 19th CPC National Congress to Accelerate the Building of National Central City Embodying New Development Concept, Decisions by the CPC Chengdu Municipal Committee to Study New Thoughts, Adopt New Philosophies and Implement Main Functional Area Strategy to Build a New, Modern City, and Urban Master Planning of Chengdu (2016-2035)(draft for deliberation).

The Session revealed an important sign that the southwestern city will initiate unprecedented changes in the urban layout, the first of its kind in the city's 2,300-year-long history. 

A three-step approach was put forward at the Session. 

Photo/VCG

Under the scheme, the capital city will endeavor to achieve the goal of moderate prosperity and turn itself into a national central city embodying the new development concepts by 2020, then grow into an international hub city that has a high level of livability and significant influence in pan-European and pan-Asian regions by 2035, and finally evolve into a modern, sustainable global city by the middle of this century. 

A global city, also called world city or sometimes alpha city or world center, is a city generally considered to be an important node in the global economic system. Such cities are often deeply involved in a large number of global affairs. 

The newest ranking released by famous city rating agency GaWC shows that London and New York City are the only two cities on the planet that currently hold an Alpha ++ status. Chengdu moves up by four positions to the Beta- status, only after Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Taipei, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. 

A report published by GaWC as early as 2013 claims that Chengdu has everything it takes to become a global city. The Milken Institute echoed the statement, placing the southwestern city in the top spot twice in its ranking of China's best-performing big cities. 

To Chengdu, the vision of making itself a national central city or a global city requires a higher level of modernization and influence on surrounding areas.  

In this case, the city has proposed a strategy of "shifting manufacturing and related service industries to the east area, promoting high-tech, strategic emerging and future-oriented industries in the south, developing green industries in the west, enhancing the ecological development in the north, and optimizing functions of central urban areas", in order to achieve the sustainable development. 

The strategy is not only about Chengdu's own development, but draws a bigger picture, under which the capital city, based on the development of its east area, will work with Chongqing to form an internationally competitive state-level city cluster and then make efforts to grow it into a world-class one. 

Chen Yao, vice chairman and secretary-general of the China Association of Regional Economies, said that creating a world-class city cluster in western China is of great significance to change China's regional economy landscape. 

The grand mission requires Chengdu and Chongqing to develop a community of shared interests through coordinated development. 

Feng Kui, secretary-general and researcher of the Academic Committee of the China Center for Urban Development under China's National Development and Reform Commission, said that to develop such community, the two cities should first let market play its decisive role in resource allocation, promoting specialization and coordination of industries. Meanwhile, the government of both cities should work better for the shared interests of the city cluster. Moreover, they should bring into full play the functions of the central government and its functional departments.  

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