China's new regional strategies, such as the "Silk Road Economic Belt", "21st Century Maritime Silk Road", "Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Metropolitan Economic Circle", and "Yangtze River Economic Belt", bring with them certain questions, such as, what direction China should take in regional policies, what impact the policies will have on the regional pattern, and how can difficult problems in regional economic development be dealt with.

To find an answer to these questions, 21st Century Business Herald arranged an interview with Liu Yunzhong, head of the Development Research Center of the State Council (DRC)'s Development Strategies and Regional Economy office, who explained that the regional strategies are not for solving all problems and are not simply some ideas dreamed up by the government or departments, and are actually intended to reach a consensus, then went on to answer 21st Century Business Herald's questions in the following way:

Consensus is the core

21st: What are the common characteristics of these regional strategies and is there a common trend?

Liu: The regional policies have two levels, local and national, as in the "One Belt, One Road", "Yangtze River Economic Belt", and "Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Metropolitan Economic Circle". In the case of national strategies, the regional policies should consider the following problems: firstly, although China has many regions, which are strategic ones that can lead the country and maintain its competitiveness and vitality; secondly, how the country deals with the long-standing regional development gap; thirdly, how regions deal with resource and environmental protection problems during economic and social change.

The recent regional development strategies and policies are all related to this, and "Silk Road Economic Belt" and "21st Century Maritime Silk Road" are intended to deal with the first two problems.

Regional strategies and planning is a process to reach a consensus, involving the central government, local governments, and the public, and a consensus on important issues that affect regional development is reached in regional planning. It is not advisable to see planning done in a rigid way because it is just an estimate of what could happen in the future, but no one can be absolutely sure about it.

21st: What are the new characteristics of the "One Belt, One Road" and "Yangtze River Economic Belt", and does the planning put more focus on opening?

Liu: We need to think about two things in this new period. The environment is becoming more complex and we are emphasizing an opening-up that covers space and content, instead of the past’s limited coastal opening. The "One Belt, One Road" strategy is part of a new, more open economic system that the 18th Party Central Committee proposed. China is developing rapidly and it is looking for ways to coexist with other countries to bring a sense of security for all, which is important. The new planning looks for larger strategic regions that can cross provinces and the central government is responsible for planning it at the state level.

21st: There are four regional strategies, with the eastern taking the lead in development, then the development of western region, northern revitalization, and rise of central China. Are there future adjustments for these?

Liu: These four are still general regional strategies, but the policies may vary according to their situations, so specific local policies are needed and the fundamental job is to find ways to break the regions down into smaller ones. Take the unemployment problem, for example, we can find 300 regions with a certain standard, and then make policies that better suit them.

Don't look at planning in a rigid way

21st: How can the new regional strategies deal with the problem of administrative separation and local protectionism that are barriers to the free flow of resources, and how can we break down barriers to develop one market in the country?

Liu: Removing barriers to build a single market for the free flow of resources, in my opinion, is not regional planning's main job. Instead, it’s an institutional problem that needs system and design reforms. And regional planning itself can't address the problem. It’s similar to the situation where people can come to Beijing from, say, Hebei province but can't get permanent residence. Regional planning can result in a highway that better connects Hebei and Beijing, instead of trying to solve the problem by giving Hebei people a Beijing residence permit. Regional planning has to deal with specific local problems in a specific region. The problems that exist across regions need to be solved at the national level.

21st: What are some of the urgent regional problems?

Liu: Regional policies focus on problems of development, such as resources, the environment, infrastructure, and city construction, which are encountered in industrial structure upgrade and integration into the global industrial chain in some regions. They could be considered in local planning.

21st: How can regional strategy planning be implemented for maximum effect?

Liu: We shouldn't see regional planning in a rigid way. It's normal if, say, half of regional plans aren't implemented. Germany is one of the best in spatial planning, but less than 60 percent of its plans are actually carried out. The planning is for the future but it's impossible to implement today's plan after 20 years without any change. Since regional plans are consensus, they should be effective for a certain period of time. In regional planning, if some projects or things are forbidden, people shouldn't do because the consensus has already been reached.