Aerial photo taken on Aug. 13, 2020 shows a view of Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Mao Siqian)
BEIJING, June 21 (Xinhua) -- China is actively implementing a new round of city renewal actions, which will spur investment and domestic demand at 10 trillion yuan level, reported Economic Information Daily on Monday quoting data from City Renewal and Existing Building Remodelling Branch of China Real Estate Chamber of Commerce.
City renewal mainly refers to improving urban spatial structure, implementing urban ecological restoration and function improvement projects, strengthening residential community construction, propelling construction of new types of urban infrastructure, enhancing urban flood control and drainage capacity, and advancing urbanization with counties as an important carrier.
The 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 put it forward for the first time that efforts should be made to implement city renewal actions to accelerate the transformation of urban development mode.
Guided by the document, China is speeding up taking a new round of urban renewal actions.
Southwest China's Chongqing, for instance, vowed to make up for the weaknesses of public facilities, create employment and innovation carriers, protect and repair green corridors and greenways, accumulate cultural elements, and enhance disaster prevention and mitigation capabilities, according to city renewal management measures issued by the municipality last Friday.
Beijing pledged to renovate old residential quarters, dilapidated houses, outdated factories and renew communities in core areas undertaking capital functions, according to a guideline on implementation of city renewal actions released on June 10.
With China's urbanization developing from scale expansion to quality improvement stage, city renewal will become an important means to bring benefits to people' life and expand domestic demand, Gao Ruidong, managing director and chief macroeconomist with Everbright Securities, told Economic Information Daily.
Meanwhile, the implementation of city renewal actions is conducive to fueling development of new industries and new formats and stimulating economic vitality of cities, said Fan Ruoying, researcher with the research institute under the Bank of China.
As city renewal plans come out one after another, construction of related major projects also accelerates.
Fuzhou city in east China's Fujian Province has started construction of 753 of the 921 projects related to improvement in urban living conditions, transportation, water environment, etc., while northeast China's Liaoning Province mulls kicking off renovation of 1,000 old residential communities by the end of this month and completing basic reconstruction projects by the end of this year.
Taking about sources of investment funds for such projects, Yang Tao, president of planning and design department of China Urban Construction Design & Research Institute said that in the long run, sustained and diversified investment modes should be explored, involving government guidance, private capital participation, and input by residents and other stakeholders.
Exploration has already begun in Chinese localities. On June 2, Shanghai took the lead in setting up a fund of 80 billion yuan earmarked for investment in city renewal. It is so far the largest urban renewal fund in China.
Also, Beijing encourages market entities to make capital investment in city renewal, real estate owners to raise funds for renovation projects, and financial institutions to innovate financial products to provide financial support. (Edited by Su Dan with Xinhua Silk Road, sudan@xinhua.org)
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