Opinion

Strict city planning, lack of dynamism could limit Xiongan’s growth before it’s even finished

Shenzhen and Pudong were able to grow and reach their current heights thanks to good geography, climate, policy experimentation and, importantly, location

Xiongan lacks those advantages, and the central government’s tight controls risk choking off the kind of organic growth seen in the world’s great cities

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Workers are seen on a construction site for municipal support facilities at the Rongdong area of Xiongan New Area, in Hebei province, on March 30, 2021. Photo: Xinhua

Philip J. Cunningham has been a regular visitor to China since 1983, working variously as a tour guide, TV producer, freelance writer, independent scholar and teacher.

Published: 4:15pm, 15 May 2023

Is Xiongan a new Pudong or a Potemkin? Is it the latest Shenzhen or just a Shangri-la? President Xi Jinping took a bullish attitude during his recent inspection of the city-in-progress, describing it as “sophisticated” and “a miracle”. He also said practice had shown the Communist Party Central Committee’s decision on building the Xiongan New Area is “entirely correct”.

Xiongan is a done deal, politically, given that it’s a prestige project backed by the party, but the build is still incomplete so it’s hard to tell how it will turn out.

China has built cities from scratch before, so the idea can’t be dismissed entirely. Yet sceptics question the value of building a city to offload population and jobs from overcrowded Beijing when Xiongan – located in a delicate wetland zone prone to floods – has a population cap of 3 million.