Abstract:

The paper studies regional socio-economic differentiation as a factor restraining the development of modern state, threatening its territorial integrity and stability. The research is based on the materials of the People's Republic of China, a country with a positive experience in solving the problem of regional differentiation. One of the key questions of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan (2006-2010) was the development of Beijing. Regional planning and development of capital surrounding territories also became very relevant; for the first time, an idea was announced of developing a model of urban agglomeration named “8 + 2”, where ‘2’ is a core including two national central cities, Beijing and Tianjin, and ‘8’ are the largest cities of Hebei Province. In 2015, the China Governance approved the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Regional Integration Development Program, which main tasks were:  industrial relocation from Beijing; restructuring regional economy and space; creating a megacity of global importance in Eastern China; and cooperative, coordinated and balanced development of these three areas in all directions. It is expected that the development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration will ensure the leveling of regional imbalances, taking full advantage of the regional division of labor while reducing the anthropogenic pressure on the environment.