The city of Zhanjiang in Guangdong province sets out to make joint efforts with Nanning in Guangxi province and Haikou in Hainan province, to improve their urban agglomeration in the Beibu Gulf Rim area, according to the city's Mayor Wang Zhongbing.

The mayor voiced his desire during an interview with Sina, a Chinese media website on March 7, as the fourth session of the 12th National People's Congress (NPC) got underway in Beijing.

As the central government prioritized the agglomeration in the Beibu Gulf Rim among the other seven areas, Zhanjiang should grasp the rare opportunity to cooperate with Nanning and Haikou, to develop the Beibu Gulf Rim into a spotlight area, said Wang during the interview.

He also expressed his strong desire and the need for the three cities to work together and cooperate in common development.

The mayor laid out a five-pronged strategy to achieve this goal. He placed transportation as the top priority and said he expected direct flights to be open among the three cities.

The Zhanjiang-Haikou High Speed Railway is scheduled for completion in 2030.

He suggested that schemes linked to helping home ownership could be merged between the three cities as well as the medical and social welfare systems, in order to cut government waste in these areas.

The mayor expressed his determination to make full use of Zhanjiang's strengths in areas such as ports and shipping, in order to adopt workable measures for the construction of the agglomeration in the Beibu Gulf Rim.

Zhanjiang Mayor Wang Zhongbing gives an interview to Sina on March 7, to express his desire to cooperate with Nanning and Haikou in the construction of the urban agglomeration in the Beibu Gulf Rim. [Photo/zhanjiang.gov.cn]