Road map points the way forward for proposed industrial cluster

Officials have ratified an action plan to weld three major population centers into a single economic entity to promote stronger growth and tackle 'urban diseases', as Zheng Jinran reports.

The formation of a fully integrated world-class manufacturing and business hub in North China has moved a step closer after the governments of the three main centers involved accepted an official road map for the union.

The proposed Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei province cluster, which will have Beijing as its administrative center, will cover about 217,000 square kilometers and contain more than 200 counties and more than 100 million people. Last year, the combined GDP of the three centers was 6.65 trillion yuan ($ 1.07 trillion).