China to create new economic zone outside Beijing

BEIJING: China will create a new special economic zone outside Beijing similar to those established in Shenzhen and Shanghai, the government said, in a bid to boost flagging growth and reduce the strain on the capital.

The Xiongan New Area, located some 100 kilometres (62 miles) southwest of downtown Beijing in Hebei province, will rival south China’s Shenzhen Special Economic Zone, established in the 1980s, and Shanghai’s Pudong New Area, set up in the 1990s.