In China, a New Inland Economic Zone

Beijing is currently drafting plans for a Central Plains (known as Zhongyuan) Economic Zone. The Central Plains is a region that traditionally has served as northern China's primary grain belt and as an important transport corridor linking Beijing with coastal economic centers. The plans will not be finalized until the end of 2012, but according to initial reports, the new zone will focus on industrialization, urbanization and agricultural modernization.

Unlike coastal special economic zones such as Shenzhen, the purpose of the new zone is not only economic but political and social as well. It is intended to provide a buffer to any social fallout the diminishing economic activity on the coast may cause. Consequently, the zone's significance lies less in the plan itself than in what the plan reveals about China's shifting economics.