STORY: Xiong'an New Area a "miracle" for China: Swiss executive
SHOOTING TIME: March 13, 2024
DATELINE: March 14, 2024
LENGTH: 00:02:24
LOCATION: XIONG'AN, China
CATEGORY: SOCIETY

SHOTLIST:
1. various of Xiong'an New area
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): DIEGO SALMERON, Board member of the Swiss Green Buildings Association
3. various of Xiong'an New area
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): DIEGO SALMERON, Board member of the Swiss Green Buildings Association

STORYLINE:

Xiong'an New area is a miracle for China, with the construction of such a big plan within such a short time almost unbelievable, a Swiss construction executive said Wednesday after his first visit to the area.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): DIEGO SALMERON, Board member of the Swiss Green Buildings Association
"At this time, of course, I had a chance to see it in real, by having a very well-organized visit here in Xiong'an, having different presentations and site visits. And I must say the most impressing was the construction site we visited. The new station also for high-speed and LRT (light rail transit) subway is being built, totally (nearly) 25 km long construction size and it's very large in size. I have seen many construction sites in China in the last 20 years, but this is probably one of the biggest I have seen so far, so this impressed me most.
It's for me as a Swiss citizen to see such a construction site, such a city which has been built in only seven years. In Swiss terminology, this is to be considered as a miracle because it's almost unbelievable that such a big plan gets realized in such a short time. So from this perspective, I could call it a miracle."

In April 2017, China announced a plan to establish the Xiong'an New Area.

The new area aims to relieve Beijing of non-essential functions related to its status as the nation's capital, while also advancing the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

Salmeron was astonished by the green concept implemented in the new area, saying Xiong'an can be considered an urban laboratory where new innovative projects can be applied.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): DIEGO SALMERON, Board member of the Swiss Green Buildings Association
"The green concept implemented in this area was quite astonishing in terms also of energy supply. We have learned about different renewable energy sources Xiong'an is already applying, photovoltaic, geothermal energy, and also hydro-based energy, and of course already quite many buildings following the green buildings standards. So I think Xiong'an can be considered to be an urban laboratory where new innovative projects can be applied. And therefore, I think the cooperation between Switzerland and China could be a good chance for Xiong'an.
I think this is an area where Switzerland has quite some know-how to share with Chinese partners in terms of the technology, in terms of conceptual approaches, and in terms of different aspects of materials, energy supply, mobility, smart grids."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Xiong'an, China.
(XHTV)