Recently, a news related to Hangzhou has attracted widespread attention.
On the morning of January 29, at the fourth meeting of the 14th Hangzhou Municipal People's Congress, Hangzhou Mayor Yao Gaoyuan mentioned in the work report that the population of Hangzhou exceeded 10 million, realizing a great leap from a megacity to a megacity.
This is the first time that the population of Hangzhou has exceeded the 10 million mark, reaching 100210,000, becoming the second megacity in the Yangtze River Delta after Shanghai. So far, the number of megacities and megacities in the Yangtze River Delta region has reached 5, namely 2 megacities in Shanghai and Hangzhou, and 3 megacities in Nanjing, Hefei and Suzhou, accounting for 1 4 of the total number of megacities in the country.
Some local netizens in Hangzhou ridiculed that when others ask how big Hangzhou is in the future, they can answer the kind of big "super-large" city.
Wang Jiyuan, deputy director of the comprehensive research office of the Institute of Land Development and Regional Economy of the China Macroeconomic Research Institute, told China News Weekly that the rapid economic growth, the iterative upgrading of industries, and the active talent policy have formed the basis for Hangzhou's population growth.
Zeng Gang, dean of the Urban Development Research Institute of East China Normal University and director of the Urban Planning Society of China, told China News Weekly that Hangzhou's entry into the list of megacities will greatly enhance the city's strategic position and global influence.
At the same time, while many of the experts interviewed affirmed Hangzhou's achievements in population growth in recent years, they also worried that the rapid population growth could put some pressure on the city's development.
The resident population has maintained a growth rate of more than six digits
Hangzhou's megacity leapfrogs the road of development, and there are three time nodes worth paying attention to.
In 2009, the population of Hangzhou exceeded 3 million. According to the division of the size of the city, Hangzhou has become a large city and has begun to move towards a megacity.
In 2015, Hangzhou's urban population exceeded 5 million, making it one of the country's megacities for the first time. At that time, Hangzhou Fuyang was withdrawn from the city and set up districts, which was considered to be the primary factor in the population growth of the urban area. It is understood that among the country's megacities, such as Chongqing, they have experienced a stage of rapid population growth brought about by the adjustment of administrative divisions.
Also in this year, Hangzhou's GDP reached 105 trillion yuan, stepping into the ranks of "GDP trillion" cities. In the same year, Hangzhou successfully bid to host the Asian Games and became the host city of the 2016 G20 Summit. Since that year, Hangzhou's permanent population has continued to maintain a growth rate of more than 6 digits.
Wang Jiyuan pointed out that from the perspective of economic growth, from 2016 to 2023, Hangzhou's GDP will grow at an average annual rate of 63%, higher than the national 07 percentage points, maintaining a good growth momentum; From the perspective of industrial iteration, vigorously develop the digital economy, and Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen are in the first phalanx, the operating income of the software and information service industry exceeds one trillion yuan, accounting for 11% of the country, the online retail sales exceed one trillion yuan, accounting for 1 13 of the country, and the number of live broadcast-related enterprises has exceeded 5,000, ranking first in the country, driving the employment of more than 1 million people.
Hangzhou cityscape. Figure Worm Creative.
Since 2017, the "war for people" triggered by Wuhan, Chengdu and Xi'an has swept the country, and many cities have introduced a series of settlement subsidy policies to "grab people".
At that time, many population experts believed that compared with Xi'an, Wuhan, Chengdu and other cities with many universities, Hangzhou's number of universities was not obvious, and it could only be dominated by the introduction of foreign talents. Subsequently, Hangzhou issued a new policy for talents to settle down, relaxing the threshold for those under the age of 45 with professional qualifications above the technician level and those under the age of 35 with senior professional qualifications.
In March 2023, Hangzhou issued a new round of reform policies for the household registration system, which will further relax the threshold for settlement, and those who have a college diploma or above and are under the age of 35 and pay social security can settle down.
On July 22, 2023, the Implementation Plan of Zhejiang Province to Promote the Implementation of the System of Providing Basic Public Services in Permanent Residence and Orderly Promote the Urbanization of Rural Migrant Population (2023-2027) was officially implemented. It is mentioned that the urban area of Hangzhou will gradually cancel the annual settlement quota limit, and take another step forward in liberalizing and relaxing the settlement restrictions.
After years of adjustment, Hangzhou's settlement policy has been adjusted, and a large-scale talent subsidy policy has been implemented, which has further promoted the growth of the population.
According to data released by the Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Statistics over the years, from 2015 to 2022, Hangzhou's permanent population has increased from 90180,000 to 1,23760,000 people, an increase of 335 in just a few yearsWith 80,000 people, it is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. In 2022, against the background of negative population growth in the country, Hangzhou's permanent population will still grow by 17 against the trend20,000, becoming a net inflow of population into the city.
Although Hangzhou's population data for 2023 has not been released for the time being, according to Dong Yue, director of the Hangzhou Municipal Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, Hangzhou will introduce 39 college students under the age of 35 in 2023With 680,000 talents, Hangzhou's net inflow rate of talents has remained at the forefront of similar cities in the country for many years.
Not long ago, Hangzhou announced the "Implementation Opinions on Improving the Level of Urban Internationalization and Striving to Build a World-class Socialist Modern International Metropolis", setting a more long-term urban development goal - by 2027, the "World City List" will rank among the top 60 and become an international city with high global influence, competitiveness and reputation; By 2030, Hangzhou's core competitiveness will be at the forefront of the first phalanx of cities in the country, and it will initially become a world famous city with outstanding characteristics and great influence. By 2035, China will basically build a world-class socialist modern international metropolis.
At the same time, Hangzhou's economic aggregate has also jumped to a new level, with Hangzhou's GDP reaching 2,005.9 billion yuan in 2023, an increase of 56%, the total economic output exceeded 2 trillion for the first time, and the fiscal revenue was 4916500 million yuan, an increase of 71%。Industrial investment exceeded 100 billion yuan for the first time, industrial land was close to 300 square kilometers, and the number of listed companies exceeded 300 for the first time.
Many industry insiders speculate that Hangzhou's population will continue to grow for at least the next few years.
Population growth should be matched by the carrying capacity of the city
Regarding the classification criteria for super-large and mega-cities, the Notice on Adjusting the Classification Standards for Urban Scales issued on November 20, 2014 mentions that cities with a permanent urban population of more than 10 million are megacities, and cities with a permanent urban population of more than 5 million and less than 10 million are megacities. It should be noted that the statistical caliber in the notice is "permanent resident population in urban areas".
To become a super-large and mega-city, in addition to the attractiveness of the city will be further strengthened, more importantly, the tilt of the policy is real. For example, the "14th Five-Year Plan for National Urban Infrastructure Construction" has proposed, "support the key metropolitan areas centered on super-large and mega-cities to weave a dense rail transit network with urban rail transit and urban (suburban) railways as the backbone, and promote the integrated development of central cities and surrounding cities (towns)." ”
Zeng Gang said that after Hangzhou becomes a megacity, its position in the country's overall development strategy, as well as the level of infrastructure allocation and service capacity such as transportation, communications, culture, education and health, science and technology, and data centers will be greatly improved, guiding more talents, science and technology, investment and other innovative elements to gather, strengthen its function as a hub for global resource allocation, scientific and technological innovation, high-end industry leadership, and international exchanges, and enhance its internal and external services and radiation, and brand influence. Promote the construction of the Hangzhou metropolitan area and the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta region.
Zhou Jiang, director of the Yangtze River Economic Belt Research Committee of the China Association for Regional Science and president of the Sichuan Association of Regional Sciences, said in an interview with China News Weekly that the population size of cities must be commensurate with their carrying capacity.
He pointed out that although the traditional economic concept is that population growth can stimulate economic growth, with the advancement of technology and artificial intelligence technology, especially robots gradually replacing human labor as the main productive force, the impact of population growth on the economy is becoming more complex and diverse.
On the one hand, Zhou Jiang said, population growth could promote urban economic development and industrial agglomeration, promote infrastructure upgrading and investment, create more jobs, and stimulate consumer demand and effective investment. Such growth would also contribute to a smooth transition in the real estate market.
On the other hand, the influx of large numbers of people into cities may also bring a series of problems, such as higher demand for infrastructure, job markets and social public services, increased resource consumption and environmental pressures, and certain impacts on urban culture and social structure.
Zhou Jiang said Hangzhou's urban infrastructure, including transportation, water conservancy, power and communication network systems, needs to be upgraded and updated to cope with the increased demand brought about by population growth. At the same time, population growth will put pressure on Hangzhou's education, health care and social security systems, which will require adequate funding and support. In addition, in order to attract and retain the new population, Hangzhou's job market needs to provide ample job opportunities. If the industry is not fully developed and the employment environment is not optimistic, the remaining population will not be able to find suitable jobs, which may lead to an increase in the risk of social instability.
In his view, Hangzhou should formulate a reasonable development plan according to its own carrying capacity and future development goals to cope with the challenges and opportunities brought by population growth. This requires Hangzhou's efforts in sustainable development planning to ensure that the city's development matches its carrying capacity.
Zeng Gang mentioned that in order to give full play to the unique advantages of a megacity, Hangzhou should also work closely with neighboring cities and partner cities to make up for Hangzhou's disadvantages in terms of the lack of well-known universities and research institutes.
Author: Chen Shulian.
Editor: Sun Xiaobo.