Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region advances coordinated development in 2023: report

The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region in north China made great strides in coordinated development on various fronts in 2023, with the regional development index rising 5.6 points from the previous year to 148.8, according to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Friday.

In 2023, Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei continued to increase investment in innovation and reaped more innovation outcomes, said the NBS, adding that the region's total research and development expenditure in 2023 rose by 4.6 percent year on year to a level 1.62 percentage points higher than the national level.

Industrial coordination was accelerated in 2023, with Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei jointly drawing up a map of six key industrial chains, and nearly 10,000 inter-provincial branches set up in the region by legal entities above the designated size, according to the data.

Green development was advanced steadily in the region. The proportion of surface water at or above Grade III in the region has exceeded 80 percent, all the five major rivers in the region have reconnected to the sea, and surface water below Grade V, the lowest level in the country's five-tier water quality system, has been eliminated in the region's major rivers, the data showed.

In terms of jointly building infrastructure, the total length of operating railway in the region reached 11,300 kilometers, up 2.3 percent from the previous year. Residents in the region can now travel to any neighboring city within one and a half hours, said the NBS.

By the end of 2023, a project allowing residents in the region to access services in different cities with only one card had covered 25 human resources and social security services, more than 64,000 designated medical institutions, and nearly 4,000 transport routes, according to the data.

In 2014, a national strategy was proposed for the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Since then, the strategy has seen progress including an improved transportation system, robust infrastructure, and enhanced technology innovations across the region, among others.

The gross domestic product of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, one of the country's most economically vibrant regions, reached 10.4 trillion yuan in 2023, almost doubling that of 2013, with an average annual growth rate of 5.8 percent.

Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region advances coordinated development in 2023: report

The European Union and the United Nations issued a joint report on Monday saying that human development across Gaza has been set back by a staggering 77 years, with 71.4 billion U.S. dollars needed over the next decade for its recovery and reconstruction.

According to the Final Gaza Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment, jointly conducted by the EU and UN with the World Bank, 26.3 billion U.S. dollars will be needed in the first 18 months to restore essential services, rebuild critical infrastructure and support economic recovery.

Physical infrastructure damages are estimated at 35.2 billion U.S. dollars, with economic and social losses amounting to 22.7 billion U.S. dollars from the Israel-Hamas war that began on October 7, 2023.

The report finds that all sectors have been devastated, including housing, health, education, commerce and agriculture.

In Gaza, at least 371,888 housing units have been destroyed or damaged, more than 50 percent of hospitals are non-functional, and nearly all schools have been destroyed or damaged. The economy has contracted by 84 percent.

The impact on the lives of Gazans is just as devastating: more than 60 percent of the population have lost their homes and 1.9 million people displaced, often multiple times. Women, children, persons with disabilities, and those with pre-existing vulnerabilities bear the greatest burden.

Over two years of conflict has resulted in more than 71,000 Palestinian fatalities and over 171,000 injured, according to local authorities, with many still missing under the rubble.

Gaza's reconstruction in next decade needs 71.4 billion US dollars: report