China to support urban renewal projects to advance new urbanization

More efforts will be made for key urban renewal projects, with the goal of fully releasing huge potential of new urbanization and generating new drivers of economic growth, said Liu Sushe, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the country's top economic planner, in Beijing on Tuesday.

Liu made the remarks at a press briefing that was held by the State Council Information Office on systematically implementing a package of incremental policies to solidly promote economic growth, structural optimization and sustained momentum of development.

According to Liu, China's urban development has entered a phase where both new construction and the renewal of existing infrastructure are of equal importance, with the latter facing an increasingly heavier burden.

The renovation of urban underground utility networks, such as gas, water supply, drainage, and heating systems, will require the installation of nearly 600,000 kilometers of new pipelines and cost up to around 4 trillion yuan (around 567.18 billion U.S. dollars) over the next five years.

Looking ahead, China will take a phased approach to implement the urban renewal and renovation projects, according to Liu.

Priority will be given to projects that can enhance public safety and improve people's livelihood, such as the refurbishment of aging urban residential communities and neighborhoods and the revitalization of urban villages, Liu added.

At the start of the press briefing, the NDRC announced investment projects valued at 200 billion yuan (about some 28.35 billion U.S. dollars) that are in next year's plans will be released in advance this year to support the implementation of major national strategies and building up of security capacity in key areas.

"[In the pre-allocation funds,] we will give priority to a batch of key urban renewal projects. Currently, the financial demand for urban underground utility network is substantial, and we hope to prioritize support for these key projects. For the 2023-2024 period, the NDRC has earmarked over 470 billion yuan from the central budget, the issuance of additional government bonds, and ultra-long special treasury bonds, with a particular focus on the renovation of urban gas and drainage networks and the renovation of old urban residential communities, among others," Liu said.

China to support urban renewal projects to advance new urbanization

Chinese tech giant ByteDance, parent company of the popular short-video app TikTok, has signed binding agreements to divest the app's most assets in the United States and form a joint venture with a group of mostly American investors, in a crucial step toward avoiding a U.S. government ban, TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew said in a memo sent to the company staff on Thursday.

Under the agreements, ByteDance will retain 19.9 percent of the business, while U.S. cloud computing giant Oracle, private equity group Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX will each hold 15 percent. The remaining 30.1 percent will be held by affiliates of ByteDance's existing investors.

The move follows U.S. President Donald Trump's order in September this year to delay the enforcement of a law that would ban TikTok unless it was sold.

Although the transaction will not be complete until Jan 22, 2026, the move enables TikTok, used by more than 170 million Americans, to continue operating in the United States.

In April 2024, during former President Joe Biden's administration, the U.S. Congress passed a law to ban TikTok over what it called national security concerns, unless the app was sold.

The law was set to go into effect on Jan 20 this year, but was pushed back multiple times by Trump, while his administration worked toward a deal to transfer ownership.

TikTok parent ByteDance signs deal to sell US operations in joint venture move