China's new special economic zone, to be developed in Hebei Province, is widely expected to become a "success," inasmuch as it will likely attract many high-profile domestic companies and government organs. Whether it can become a driving force to spread economic reform across the country, however, is a very different matter.
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Chinese State Council suddenly announced in a joint notice on April 1 that a new district called the Xiongan New Area would be created in the northeastern province.