An innovative XI Jinping strategy in 1985 transformed Xiamen into a sustainable model for urban and economic development.
A plane flies over the Chaotian Palace (Xiamen).
In 1985, when the effervescence won China with the reform and opening policy, the Special Economic Zone (ZES) of Xiamen remained a small coastal town with limited infrastructure, confronted with numerous development challenges. It was at this point that Xi Jinping, then stationed in Hebei, took office as a member of the Permanent Committee of the Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCC) for the city of Xiamen and deputy mayor.
To promote the urban development of this city, the ZES of which only covered 2.5 km2 at its beginnings, the smallest of the first four in China, Xi Jinping had quickly understood that scientific planning was essential. During his mandate, he directed the development of the Economic and Social Development Strategy of Xiamen 1985-2000, a plan that traced a clear roadmap for the next 15 years and laid the solid foundations of the sustainable prosperity of the city.
A Chinese Development Way of the Franc Port
In order to explore a development path of a frank port adapted to Chinese specificities, the daily life of Xiamen launched in 1986 a campaign entitled the year 2000: how I imagine Xiamen, which aroused a strong enthusiasm. Many participated with enthusiasm, sharing their visions and hopes for the future. This initiative was an integral part of the Economic and Social Development Strategy of Xiamen 1985-2000 and several dozen proposals from these contributions were selected. “After five years of construction, Xiamen’s ZES entered a new development phase. It became urgent to have a guiding strategy to guide decisions and allow faster and better quality development, ”recalls Li Xiuji, then deputy secretary of the PCC municipal committee for Xiamen.
In August 1986, to deepen the study of Port francs policies and consider the future of Xiamen, the CCC municipal committee and the municipal government adopted a XI Jinping proposal by creating the research office on the economic and social development strategy. One of its major contributions has precisely been the development of the Economic and Social Development Strategy of Xiamen 1985-2000.
This strategy is the fruit of in -depth and rigorous research. The members of the research office went to Beijing to consult the ministries concerned as well as renowned experts. They notably met Yu Guangyuan, member of the Central Commission of Advisers and Influent Economists, and requested the advice of Liu Guoguang, vice-president of the Chinese Social Sciences Academy (ASSC), as well as Dong Fureng, director of the ASSC Institute of Economy, who all expressed their support for the project.
More than a hundred experts, academics (from the ASSC, the Academy of Sciences of China, the University of Xiamen) and local officials have also contributed to research on 21 themes, including the implementation of certain franc Port policies and the construction of a free port ZES. Some even went to Singapore for study missions, in order to deepen their understanding and explore a free port model in accordance with Chinese characteristics.
Students participate in a plane -plated flight competition in elastic during the Binglang primary school festival (Xiamen), December 30, 2024.
A development strategy for Xiamen
The 1985-2000 Economic and Social Development Strategy had a global and structuring scope for the city. For the first time, it explicitly proposed the implementation of certain Port francs francs in Xiamen, including a concrete plan for the establishment of the Xiangyu free zone, as well as a long -term vision aimed at gradually developing offshore financial activities when the time comes.
This strategy also did a pioneer work by introducing the concept of “eco-niche”, insisting on the need to reconcile economic development and environmental preservation. It pointed out that growth should not be done at the expense of ecology, calling to prevent pollution and maintaining ecological balance, in order to guarantee current and future generations a healthy living and work environment.
Even today, many Chinese researchers, by studying this document, are impressed by its innovative and visionary character. Several of his proposals were ahead of their time and subsequently influenced other regions of the country.
Zheng Jinmu, then deputy director of the Xiamen planning committee, remembers the reaction of Beijing experts on reading the concept of “eco-niche”, saying that it was a “real revelation for them”. And to specify that out of the 21 research axes conducted within the framework of the strategy, two focused on ecological civilization, one concerning the socio -cultural value of the island of Bulangyu and its tourism development, the other, the urban system of Xiamen and the questions of ecological environment, themes then very little addressed on a national scale.
The 1985-2000 Economic and Social Development Strategy, formulated from the beginnings of ZES, is one of the first long-term strategic plans (15 years) developed by a local government in China. It instilled a powerful dynamic in the sustainable development of Xiamen’s ZES and represents a major contribution from Xi Jinping to the development of the city. Its role in the organization and orientation of ZES development is considered fundamental.
Even after its transfer to the provincial functions of Fujian, Xi Jinping has never ceased to closely follow the strategic evolution of Xiamen. In 2002, when he was deputy secretary of the PCC Provincial Committee and Governor of Fujian, he carried out an inspection mission in Xiamen. He made a lucid and direct observation on the city’s development challenges. “The main island of Xiamen is almost saturated, while the areas out of the island are a clear delay. The space of economic development is too small (…). It is now urgent to expand the development space of the city center and to strengthen its economic hinterland. »»
To open new horizons to the development of Xiamen, he proposed a daring strategy called “modernize the main island; develop beyond the island ”. It revolved around several principles, namely to modernize the main island while exploiting the space around the bay, conjugate urban transformation and economic mutation, associate rural industrialization and coordinated urbanization, and highlight the characteristics specific to the city while preserving the ecology of the bay.
This vision aimed to transform Xiamen of an island city into an integrated, modern, prosperous, harmonious and environmentally friendly bay city, to make it an exemplary international garden city. The implementation of this strategy marked the launch of a rapid integration process between island and the hinterland, giving new impetus to the coordinated development of the entire urban territory of Xiamen.
The mangrove in the azure blue waters in Jimei (Xiamen) gives the impression of floating herbs on the sea.
A reference for the medium and long -term urban construction of Xiamen
The development of a development strategy during the initial phase of Xiamen’s ZES was of capital importance. By reflecting from the start of the positioning of the city and its major orientations, by clearly structuring the different dimensions of work in the special zone, it was possible to give clear direction to development and to avoid major errors or unnecessary detours.
Strategic research in economic and social development is a complex and systemic company. It covers a wide range of fields, ranging from the rigorous analysis of history and the current situation to the scientific forecast of future development, including coordination between economic, technological and social progress. The 21 themes of the Economic and Social Development Strategy of Xiamen 1985-2000 were a global and innovative approach. It planned in particular the system of urban infrastructure, industrial development, institutional reforms, the exploration of the construction of a frank port, and cooperation and exchanges with Taiwan. It also paid particular attention to the development of education and science, environmental protection, preserving the cultural and tourist resources of Bulangyu, as well as control of the size of the population.
The plan also included specific studies on the protection of intellectual property, thus showing a avant-garde vision and a concern for harmonized and coordinated development. This strategic document has established itself as a reference model for urban planning in the medium and long term, marking a turning point in local territorial governance in China.
This development strategy has later become a reference plan to guide urban construction and medium and long -term development of the city. The famous economist MA Hong welcomed it, saying that this strategy had a major directive value for long -term planning and short -term measures in Xiamen’s ZES, also providing precious experience for other regions in the development of their own regional development strategies.
*Zhang Yantao is a professor at the Faculty of Marxism at Xiamen University.
