The national strategy of synergizing the development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei reaches its third anniversary this month, a project that has initiated enviable progress within the three regions and has received widespread acknowledgement.

"The long-term strategy of integrating three provinces and municipalities of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei will contribute to balancing resources of the three regions, establishing their economic development zone positioning to have complementary advantages," said Jing Linbo, director of the Chinese Evaluation Center for Humanities and Social Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Jing added that implementing the long-term strategy is not as easy as initially thought. "We should get rid of regional protectionisms that the local governments are concerned about boosting their own GDPs. Instead, we should seek economic efficiency on a broader scale," said Jing.

Wang Jefferson, principal of A.T. Kearney, shares similar ideas. "The strategy plays a crucial role in the integrated and synergetic development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province. The three regions should not be treated separately. On the contrary, we should regard these places as a whole ecosystem, and carry out industrial restructuring and upgrading within this system," Wang said.

Jing, from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, also acknowledged the importance of the integrated strategy in absorbing overseas investments. "I think we should encourage attracting foreign investments, not only because of the money inflows, but the related mechanism lying behind. In the meantime, we should also take full advantage of domestic investments, setting up a good balance," said Jing.