Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, rolled out several policies on Oct 14 about supporting Xixian New Area's innovation system, in a bid to promote the area's high-quality development and develop it into an innovative urban development pilot zone.

Xixian New Area boasts strong transportation infrastructure. [Photo/Xi'an news network]

Xixian is located between the built-up areas of Xi'an and Xianyang in Shaanxi.

The new area will be incentivized to replicate the reform experiences of comprehensive innovation reform pilot zones, free trade pilot zones, and independent innovation demonstration zones to provide a strong impetus for the transformation of Xi'an into an important domestic city.

By 2025, the comprehensive functions of the pilot zone for innovative urban development in Xixian will be further enhanced. The new area's economic aggregate will exceed 120 billion yuan ($18.65 billion), with an average annual growth rate of 12 percent.

Local fiscal revenue is expected to exceed 16 billion yuan, with an average annual growth rate of more than 15 percent, and the average annual growth of investment in fixed assets is expected to exceed 10 percent.

New breakthroughs are expected to be made in the development of innovative cities by that time. The number of national high-tech enterprises in the new area is expected to exceed 2,000.

In addition, carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP are expected to be reduced by 15 percent.

People’s living standards should be furthered improved as well, and per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents is expected to increase by more than 8 percent per year.

In addition, the opinions further clarify that it is necessary to strengthen planning and coordination, especially to promote infrastructure interconnection and accelerate the construction of major transportation infrastructure such as rail transit.

The integration of public services will be accelerated to encourage the allocation of high-quality resources related to science, education, culture, and health to Xixian.