Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City: Unveiling China’s Good Practices in Decentralised Governance for Smart Urban Development

Tianjin, situated in the Northern coastal region of China, is a rapidly expanding industrial and port city. It is bordered by the Bohai Sea, Hebei Province, and Beijing City. Before the eco-city construction in 2008, the area primarily consisted of salt pans, non-arable land, and contaminated water bodies (The Singapore Government, 2023). Critical environmental challenges include air pollution, traffic congestion, insufficient green spaces, water retention to address droughts due to heavy rainfall, the loss of agricultural land and soil organic matter content (Naturvation, 2020). These challenges have brought up the urgency of implementing sustainable development within the region through initiatives and collaboration with other global partners. The Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City (SSTEC) project represents a collaborative effort between Singapore and China as one of the government-to-government projects in sustainable urban development. Its inception traces back to a pivotal meeting in April 2007 between Singapore's Senior Minister, Goh Chok Tong, and China's Premier, Wen Jiabao, culminating in signing a cooperation framework agreement in November 2007. This partnership aims to establish a platform between countries to explore collaborations, pilot ideas, and share best practices in sustainable development (Oh, 2023).

In the SSTEC project, Singapore is a knowledge partner for China and is responsible for the policy transfer to China. From Singapore's experience, 26 sophisticated key performance indicators (KPIs) were established as design principles (Geroe, 2017). These KPIs were crucial in integrating green infrastructure projects into the SSTEC, such as developing a smart grid community, intelligent substations, and electric vehicle charging stations. Singapore's expertise also contributed to establishing international best practices in water facility construction and operation. During its time, the SSTEC's electrical and water infrastructures represented China's most advanced and environmentally friendly systems (Chien & Chen, 2015). Nonetheless, the success of the SSTEC project is not solely attributable to Singapore's expertise; rather, the author contends that China's robust environmental governance also played a pivotal role in facilitating this collaborative endeavour (Chien & Chen, 2015).

Central to this process is China's distinct decentralisation governance approach. The country's environmental policy structure centres around the Environmental Protection Bureau (EPB), operating under the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) in collaboration with local governments (see image 1). The MEP monitors provincial EPBs, which oversee policy implementation carried out by municipal EPBs. The government uses a vertical supervisory system, where one level manages the level immediately below the township level (Shen, 2022). The EPBs at each level are under the dual jurisdiction of the level directly above them (an instance of tiao, a vertical structure of governance) and the local government of the same administrative level (an instance of kuai, a horizontal structure of governance) (Shen, 2022).?

Figure 1

China’s Environmental Governance: The System of Decentralisation

For instance, the municipal EPB reports to the provincial EPB and municipal governments. However, The provincial EPB has no power over the municipal government because the two are not in the same vertical or hierarchical system (Shen, 2022). In this decentralised governance style, the local governments exert a more significant influence than the MEPs because the local government funds are one of the significant sources of EPB funding (Schwartz, 2004). However, EPB's existence itself also exercises a significant influence since EPB is responsible for monitoring environmental management at the local level. Through this decentralised governance structure, the author argues that the Chinese government aims to give the local government significant authority while subtly properly monitoring them through central government power, the EPB.?

This decentralisation contributes to the success of the SSTEC project. One of the primary examples is the transformation of non-arable land into a development site. At that time, salt pans, as one of the non-arable land types, did not fall under the central government's farmland reservation quota system (Chien & Chen, 2015). This regulation structure benefited the overall SSTEC project because it would have complicated the land questions. The site had little impact on zoning for Tianjin's local government issues. Because of this, they could transform the unusable site area into a site entirely of attractive investments (Chien & Chen, 2015). The success of the transformation is attributed to the active participation of both the Tianjin local government and the SSTEC Administrative Committee. They played key roles in various aspects, including land acquisition, construction of essential infrastructure, development of transportation networks, erection of public buildings, and supervision of the enforcement of planning regulations, building standards, as well as labour and environmental regulations. Those development costs primarily come from the public budget, thus significantly reducing the development cost (Chien & Chen, 2015).?

As for now, the Eco-City has over 150,000 residents and 30,000 businesses, showcasing the growth of sustainability and urban development in the area (SSTEC, 2023). As part of the decentralisation agenda, the central government integrates Tianjin with Beijing and Hebei to form a significant urban cluster known as the "Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Integration Plan" (Preen, 2018). This initiative aims to relocate companies from Beijing due to environmental concerns while boosting economic growth. The Eco-City has won several achievements, including "Making Cities Resilient 2030" award bestowed in 2023 by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction in partnership with ICLEI—Local Governments for Sustainability (SSTEC, 2023).

Written by: Fransisca Fleicia Paschaline (Intern)

Reviewed by: Dian Noviyanti

References

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