Beijing Daxing International Airport (hereinafter referred to as Daxing Airport) is located at the intersection of the southernmost part of Beijing and the Hebei Province. It connects seamlessly the region’s highways, railways, high-speed railroads, and intercity railroads, and thus serves as an integrated and comprehensive transportation hub contributing to the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Daxing Airport, dubbed “a new powerful engine of national development” by Chinese President Xi Jinping, is expected to handle 72 million passengers, 2 million tonnes of cargo, and 620,000 flights yearly in its current phase of development. It now has four runways, “three vertical (north-south) and one horizontal (west-east),” as well as a vast terminal complex of 1.43 million square metres and other auxiliary facilities. In the long run, Daxing Airport is expected to handle 100 million passengers, 4 million tonnes of cargo, and 880,000 flights. It now houses the operations of 33 airlines, with a total of 240 flight routes serving 171 locations throughout the world.
The Daxing Airport Economic Zone has a heartland zone of roughly 150 square kilometres, with 50 square kilometres in Beijing and 100 square kilometres in Hebei. According to the development blueprint, the Zone is divided into three functional clusters: the aviation logistics subzone, the science and technology innovation subzone, and the aviation servicing subzone. The Zone’s strategic mission is three-pronged: it serves as “an international hub and a national centre of excellence for aviation science and technology innovation, and a demonstration project for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei coordinated development blueprint”.
There are two parts to the Beijing Daxing International Airport Economic Zone. The cluster to the west spans around 26 square kilometres and hosts international life sciences and healthcare companies, international science and technology innovation centres, international schools, hospitals, and other amenities. The East cluster, on the other hand, covers around 24 square kilometres. The area will include a central ecological park, international exhibition centres, international conference centres, and a comprehensive bonded zone among other services, and will be positioned as both an international consumption hub and an international business centre. In its entirety, Beijing Daxing International Airport Economic Zone will be a city characterised not only by its accessibility and interconnectedness through the highly developed air-rail combined transportation, but also a city marked by China’s unique oriental charm while readily embracing diversity of the world. It will be known as a city of innovation that is bustling with economic activities, while striking a delicate balance between growth and environmental concerns to preserve its ecology.
The Beijing Daxing Airport Economic Zone intends to become a global aerotropolis of the future, benefitting from both Beijing and Hebei’s free trade pilot and comprehensive bonded zone policies. Stemming from the development principles of innovation, openness and sustainability, it aspires to be a first-class modern airport economic zone based on the “1+2+2” development model: spearheaded by the life sciences and healthcare industry, complemented by the two basic industries of aviation and aviation servicing, as well as state-of-the-art information technology and smart equipment.
The development of Beijing Daxing International Airport Economic Zone is guided by the principle of “small government, big market”. Both the administrative management committee and the platform companies will join forces to lead the market-oriented development of the Zone. At the same time, the Beijing New Aerotropolis Holdings Company Limited will continually strengthen its capacity in “development and construction, investment and financing, operations and management, resources integration and the promotion of industrial growth”, to facilitate bringing into fruition the vision of the Beijing Daxing Airport Economic Zone.
Chen Bin (陈斌)
is presently the Director for Development and Reform of Beijing Daxing International Airport Economic Zone. He has many years of experience working at the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) since 2005. He participated in organizing China-Asean Business and Investment Summit, Belt and Road CEO Conference, China-Latin American Countries Business Summit, Conference of Chinese and African Entrepreneurs. He was the head of CCPIT Office in the US. In 2021, he joined the Beijing Daxing International Airport Economic Zone as the Director for Development and Reform.
June 2022