Beijing municipal government officially opens in subcenter

Four key municipal organs of Beijing have officially moved into their new offices in the city subcenter in Tongzhou district.

Over 600 people, including Beijing Party Chief Cai Qi and Mayor Chen Jining, gathered on Friday morning in front of the new office buildings for a flag-raising ceremony, formally marking the operation of the government in the new location.

The key organs that moved are the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, Beijing Municipal People's Government, the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress, and the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

On Thursday evening, the nameplate on the municipal government's old main building in the downtown area was taken off and handed over to the archives.

Cai said on Friday that the planning and construction of the subcenter is a major decision by the Communist Party of China Central Committee, and the subcenter would be constructed as a model of urban construction and development and a new landmark of the capital as well.

Although the municipal organs have moved to the subcenter, their work and service focus is still in the main urban areas, he said.

So far, 35 municipal government departments and 165 agencies have completed the relocation, according to the city government's news release.

Beijing is shifting some of its administrative functions out of the city center to Tongzhou to help address problems including traffic congestion and air pollution, which also facilitates the integrated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regions, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency.

According to the plan for the subcenter's development for 2016 to 2035, approved by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council, the subcenter aims to accommodate 1.3 million permanent residents by 2035.

The city subcenter will cover 155 square kilometers and be extended to the whole area of the current Tongzhou District, which totals about 906 square kilometers.

Yang Zekun contributed to this story.