Economy

Beijing weighs what it takes to be world city

By Zhang Zixuan (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-22 11:41

Beijing has taken another step in its quest to become a "world city" by setting up standards by which it can measure the distance between where it is now and where it wants to be.

The newly formed Research Base for a World City, Beijing Academy of Social Sciences has released a World City Index System through which it will score Beijing's performance on 36 indices. The indices will be used to measure what is needed to become a world city and the progress Beijing is making.

The index system will measure Beijing in three main areas - overall strength, network status and supporting conditions. The sections will involve detailed looks at sub-categories such as hard power, soft power, infrastructure, cultural status, economic status, political status and more.

Quantitative analysis will be given by scoring 36 indices, such as GDP amount, number of global top 500 universities, number of five-star restaurants, number of overseas students and so on, according to Qi Xin, vice secretary-general of the Research Base for a World City.

The organization will next set the standard mark for each index and compare Beijing with New York, London and Tokyo - the three cities generally recognized as being truly world cities.

"When we see scores that are much lower, we will have revealed problems that Beijing needs to deal with," Qi explained.

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Tang Xin, secretary-general of the Research Base for a World City, said becoming a world city could increase the country's comprehensive national strength, but Tang warned there are still potential risks, such as social polarization and structural unemployment, which might cause damage to Beijing's long-term development.

"Especially when other world cities are all from developed countries, the major question will be how Beijing can become a world city as a city from a developing country," Tang said.

Zhang Shen, a Beijing-based designer who used to live and work in London, said Beijing still has deficiencies when it is compared with cities such as London.

"There are gaps between trade areas and non-trade areas in Beijing but London itself is one big trade area with no gaps," Zhang said.

He also said things such as civilization level of residences and cultural originality are just as important as infrastructure in a world city.

Jimmy Parker, an engineer from New York who has been working in Beijing for more than four years said he was impressed with Beijing's modernization and high-speed development.

When asked which part of Beijing still had the space to improve, Parker said the city still needed to fine-tune the details.

"Details are sometimes more vital in showing a city's overall quality," he said. "For example, how many rubbish bins are allocated on streets and how often people use them."

He also said the traffic condition in Beijing was annoying, especially during rush hour. Public transport such as subways and buses should be utilized more efficiently, he suggested.

Qi echoed that the Research Base for a World City will collect 10 years' of historical data from existing world cities including London, New York and Tokyo, and work out a thorough and quantitative reference for Beijing's future development.