Beijing’s new mayor has vowed to gut the city of all functions unrelated to its status as national capital, in an effort to push the growing population into the surrounding provinces.
The city’s functions would be reduced “like peeling off cabbage leaves”, with the economy and cityscape restructured to make it “leaner and more efficient”, Cai Qi said.
Asian states have historically moved capitals when they have become too crowded and have depleted local resources. Most recently, Myanmar and Kazakhstan have built new capitals from scratch, moving the government away from historic commercial cities that were the traditional centres of power. But Mr Cai, a rising political star, may be the first to seek to move the city away from the capital.
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