Xiongan Challenge, New Beijing Ring Road: Eye on Chinese Media

(Bloomberg) -- China's plan to establish the Xiongan New Area -- a new economic zone near Beijing -- could be far more challenging than those needed to transform Shenzhen and Shanghai, according to an editorial in China Daily, the nation's flagship English-language newspaper. While many details of the project aren't available, authorities have acted swiftly to ban property sales in the area to stem speculation. The complexity of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei integration project shows just how tough the Xiongan dream may be to execute.

Elsewhere

• Officials from at least 22 county governments are banned from taking flights, high-speed rail or staying in luxury hotels because they've failed to fulfill contracts and have lost credibility, China National Radio reported. Yet another step in Xi Jinping's bid to improve the accountability of local government.
• China's tourism industry raked in 39 billion yuan ($5.7 billion) in revenue during the Tomb-sweeping Day holiday from April 2 to April 4, Xinhua News Agency reported. Most of the tourists hit the road for short-haul trips, such as around the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei area and the Yangtze River Delta region, underscoring the growing role of domestic spending on the economy.
• Beijing's seventh ring road is being planned, the Economic Observer reported. The 38-kilometer road will have six lanes, with a total investment of about 12.2 billion. The city has added ring roads to keep up with its expansion through recent decades, though getting from east to west remains a headache.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Yinan Zhao in Beijing at yzhao300@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Malcolm Scott at mscott23@bloomberg.net, Enda Curran

With assistance from Yinan Zhao