Authorities set controls for future of Beijing

By 2020, the population in Beijing should be controlled to within 23 million residents and kept at this level, according to a planning document issued by China’s central authorities.

In addition, construction land in the city should be reduced to about 2,860 square kilometers by then and to 2,760 square kilometers by 2035, the document said.

The Party’s Central Committee and the State Council announced yesterday that they had approved the general city plan for Beijing for the period 2016-2035, submitted by the city’s Party committee and the Beijing government.

Yesterday’s document said the environmental and resource capacity is the rigid limit for the city’s size and measures should be taken to reduce the stress of the city.

The document said control of population and construction will force the city to transform its development, upgrade and transform industries, and optimize and adjust its city functions.

The document pledged the “strictest” management of water resources. The height of buildings should also be strictly controlled.

As a center of politics, culture, international exchanges and scientific and technological innovation, the document stressed security to ensure a good environment for the work of central authorities.