The decisive role of the market should be brought into play in the building of new-type urbanization

"Located between Beijing and Tianjin, with small cities and a large rural area" is the basic situation of Langfang City in Hebei Province. Making full use of the unique locational advantage of being situated between Beijing and Tianjin, and standing at the strategic height of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, promoting high-grade, garden-style rural new-type urbanization with Langfang characteristics is the basic guideline of Langfang's urbanization. Giving play to the decisive role of the market in the process of urbanization, effectively accelerating the concentration of population, capital, land and other resources into new-type towns and new-type communities, and forming rural new-type towns featuring urban-rural integration, industry-city integration, ecological gardening, and intensive efficiency is a basic approach of Langfang's urbanization.

In summary, the current practice of urbanization in Langfang has the following three basic characteristics: 1. The urbanization process of transformation from traditional villages to modern towns is accelerating. 2. The industrial spatial layout characterized by industrial chains is shifting toward the direction of value chains, reflecting the gradual optimization and upgrading of the industrial structure. 3. The radiating and driving capacity of towns is strengthening, showing a shift from administration-led urbanization to market-led urbanization. Their main practices in promoting urbanization are:

(1) "Three zones in one", realizing the organic integration of industrialization and urbanization, namely industry-city integration

Langfang City adheres to the concept that building a park is building a city, and in accordance with the principle of "market entities run the parks, social capital builds the towns", it has built a rural new-type urbanization development pattern of "three zones in one" - industrial parks, agricultural parks, and rural communities - and "industry-city integration in space, functional zoning in layout, and integration of the three industries in structure". In the first half of 2014, the city's new-type industrial parks and modern agricultural parks reached 38, with more than 4,800 enterprises settled in the parks, 470 projects under construction, and USD 389.75 million of foreign capital utilized; the parks drove 491 surrounding villages and 741,000 people to achieve employment and income growth, with per capita annual income reaching 23,000 yuan.

(2) Adapting measures to local conditions, relying on the "four integrations and joint construction" model to seek the working handles and development paths for promoting urbanization

First, driven by specialized markets, the city and villages are integrated. Relying on local resource advantages, each county (city, district) highlights the building of market entities, forming industrial clusters with an annual output value of more than 5 billion yuan, such as Sanhe building materials, Xianghe sheet metal processing and wooden furniture, and Bazhou steel-wood furniture; specialized markets are flourishing, effectively boosting the urbanization process. Second, absorbed by town concentration, towns and villages are integrated. All localities pay attention to mobilizing and giving play to the enthusiasm and initiative of economically strong towns in participating in urbanization construction, expanding the effect of industrial economic concentration, and forming a number of urbanization models of elegant taste and distinctive features. For example: Shengfang Town in Bazhou City has more than 700 industrial and commercial enterprises, more than 70,000 employees, and an annual fiscal revenue of 1 billion yuan. Third, demonstration villages form groups for joint construction, and villages are integrated with one another. Adhering to market guidance and scientific planning, with strong villages leading weak villages, and adopting the form of group joint construction, new-type small towns have been built, realizing the joint construction and sharing of public resources. Fourth, villages and enterprises are jointly built, and cities and villages are integrated. The city has introduced powerful investment entities such as Vanke Real Estate, Minmetals Group, and Greenland Group to participate in rural urbanization construction, taking the road of city-village integrated development, and achieving good results.

(3) Doing a good job in livelihood-oriented and safeguard-oriented soft and hard public service facilities, and consolidating the people-oriented foundation of urbanization

Langfang grasps the core of putting people first, improving rural livelihoods, and promoting the urbanization of people, and takes the comprehensive and balanced development of public services as the realistic guarantee of urbanization development. The city has successively implemented the construction of the "six major projects" for rural medical care, education, roads, water, insurance, and housing, forming a good development momentum of converging from multiple channels, strong promotion, and comprehensive improvement, and greatly raising the residents' happiness index.

(4) "Seven reforms and joint creation", providing institutional and mechanism guarantees for new-type urbanization, and adding development autonomy and development vitality

While adhering to the market-oriented and democratic process of rural reform and safeguarding farmers' rights and interests, in the seven key links of planning, projects, funds, land, science and technology, culture, and management, an institutional and mechanism guarantee for promoting new-type urbanization development has been formed. For example, in planning, adhering to the new concept of urban-rural coordination, whole-area planning, and integrated development, the "Langfang City Urban-Rural Coordinated Planning (2011-2030)" has been compiled and completed. In project introduction, adhering to high-end guidance and green development, and promoting project parkization and industrialization. Since 2011, the city has introduced 203 projects of more than 1 billion yuan, injecting strong momentum into urbanization development. In land use and management, on the one hand, it has strengthened agricultural operating entities, successively developing 138 agricultural companies, 46 family farms, and 680 specialized large households, and transferring about 300,000 traditional farmers; on the other hand, it has explored new ways for collective construction land, making full and good use of the policy linking increases and decreases in land, and the city has cumulatively revitalized 15,000 mu of land resources, providing a strong guarantee for urbanization development. In funding support, it has cultivated diversified rural financial service entities; the city has newly added 18 banking financial institutions such as Bank of Communications, China Everbright Bank, and Industrial Bank, and established more than 50 microcredit companies and village and township banks; the total amount of agriculture-related loans for the year reached 186.8 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 20%, effectively solving the funding needs in the urbanization process.

Overall, in the future, promoting new-type distinctive urbanization should be treated as a major strategy, and it is necessary to follow the laws of urbanization and industrialization development, guide according to circumstances, further give play to the decisive role of the market, change the concepts of land urbanization and land finance, adhere to building towns through industry, green ecology, and building cities according to the market; adhere to local and nearby urbanization, establish new-type rural communities, and ensure that new-type urbanization achieves solid and practical results.