On April 1, 2017, a brief piece of news grabbed worldwide attention. China had decided to break ground on a "city of the future" that would advance coordinated development between Beijing, the busy capital city, and its neighboring Tianjin Municipality and Hebei Province. The city, Xiongan New Area, some 100 km southwest of Beijing, has since become a symbol of China's futuristic urban planning.

With its emphasis on an open and innovative economy, green and low-carbon living and a high quality of life, Xiongan focuses on developing avant-garde industries such as next-generation information technology. Several Beijing-based universities have begun to build campuses there, which will assist in creating a large talent pool. The Beijing-Xiongan Intercity Railway, which opened in 2020, has strengthened connectivity between the two with one-way travel taking about 50 minutes.

The establishment of Xiongan is just one of the transformative steps China has taken since the 18th Communist Party of China (CPC) National Congress in November 2012. The congress marked the beginning of China's new era. A year later, at the Third Plenary Session of the 18th CPC Central Committee, a master plan was adopted on deepening reform across the board, mindful of the specific needs of this era. Thirty-five years after the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee initiated China's reform and opening up in 1978, it was imperative to begin taking the country's reforms to a deeper level.

The reforms outlined in 2013 have now mostly come to fruition. For instance, since the first pilot free trade zone was launched in Shanghai in 2013, 22 such zones have been established across the country, with the latest one inaugurated in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region last November. These zones are intended to test special policies on trade liberalization as part of the country's efforts to foster new economic drivers.

All China's reforms are problem-oriented. By resolving problems that crop up, the CPC steers the country along a path of healthy growth. Just as Xiongan is now a showcase of China's high-quality development, the upcoming Third Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee will offer the international community an opportunity to observe the Party's hands-on approach to governance.