Xi Tells Capital to Shed Unneeded Functions, Integrate with Neighbors

(Beijing) – The head of the Communist Party has told Beijing it should "offload some functions" and work to better integrate with its neighbors, but an urban planning expert warns policymakers against solutions that hurt ordinary people.

Xi Jinping, the party's general secretary, said at a meeting on financial and economic affairs on February 10, that Beijing should free itself of some functions that don't match its status.