According to statistics, by the end of 2024, the urbanization rate of China's permanent population will reach 67%, with approximately 940 million people living in urban areas. At present, China's urban development has shifted from large-scale incremental construction to emphasizing both stock improvement and incremental structural adjustment. It has entered an important period of urban renewal, and the needs of the people have shifted from "whether they exist" to "whether they are good or not". The Opinion on Continuously Promoting Urban Renewal Action has been recently issued, which constructs a comprehensive and detailed top-level design framework for urban renewal work. On May 20th, the State Council Information Office held a press conference, where multiple departments introduced how to promote urban renewal actions. The reporter noticed that the "Opinions" clearly define the "timetable" for urban renewal, proposing that by 2030, significant progress will be made in the implementation of urban renewal actions, institutional mechanisms will continue to improve, the transformation of development and construction methods will show initial results, the foundation for safe development will be solid, service efficiency will be improved, the living environment will be significantly improved, economic formats will be rich, cultural heritage will be effectively protected, and the style and characteristics will be highlighted. The city will become a high-quality living space. In terms of main tasks, the "Opinions" clarify 8 key tasks, including strengthening the renovation and utilization of existing buildings, promoting the renovation and transformation of old urban residential areas, carrying out complete community construction, promoting the renewal and transformation of old neighborhoods, old factories, urban villages, etc., improving urban functions, strengthening urban infrastructure construction and transformation, restoring urban ecosystems, and protecting and inheriting urban history and culture. Among them, promoting the renovation of old urban communities and carrying out complete community construction are important tasks. Qin Haixiang, Deputy Minister of Housing and Urban Rural Development, stated at the press conference that he will guide local governments to strengthen organizational implementation. On the one hand, we will carry out the renovation of aging pipelines in the community, eliminate safety hazards, carry out maintenance of public areas of buildings, renovation of environmental and supporting facilities, energy-saving renovation of buildings, support the installation of elevators, and improve living conditions and environment; On the other hand, we will continue to carry out complete community construction, build and improve "one elderly, one small" public service facilities and municipal supporting facilities such as parking and charging according to local conditions, making people's lives more convenient, comfortable, and beautiful. It is reported that in recent years, 106 communities across the country have successively launched pilot projects for complete community construction. From 2019 to 2024, a total of 280000 old residential areas in China have been renovated, benefiting 48 million households and over 120 million people. 360000 kilometers of aging pipelines have been renovated, 3.87 million parking spaces have been added, 78000 community service facilities have been built, and 446 million square meters of residential buildings have been renovated for energy efficiency. Using a 'one map' to make cities come alive is related to land use and planning adjustments. Zhang Bing, the chief planner of the Ministry of Natural Resources, introduced that by establishing a 'one map', we will strengthen the investigation of existing resource assets, clarify the quantity, ownership, and utilization situation, and implement the requirement of 'the old city cannot be demolished again'. We will carry out targeted investigations on the spatial elements of natural and cultural history within the city, and form a unified base map. At the same time, we will promote the improvement of the full lifecycle management of investigation, registration, rights and interests, planning, use control, law enforcement supervision, etc. on the "one map", facilitate data sharing between departments, truly realize asset management, resource utilization, and city revitalization, and fully support urban renewal actions. In addition, urban renewal requires a significant investment of financial resources and elements. It is reported that in order to guide large and medium-sized cities to explore sustainable urban renewal models, the Ministry of Finance will launch the implementation of urban renewal actions in 2024, with the first batch of 15 cities identified. Over the past year, the quality of infrastructure in these cities has significantly improved. This year, a second batch of 20 cities will be selected to strengthen fiscal policies and funding support. The formulation of special loan management measures for urban renewal is not only a project that benefits people's livelihoods, but also an important lever for stabilizing investment and promoting consumption at the current stage. It is reported that since the 14th Five Year Plan, the central budget has allocated more than 470 billion yuan in investment to support the renovation of underground pipelines such as urban gas and drainage, as well as the construction of supporting infrastructure such as the renovation of old urban communities and urban villages. Since 2024, the construction and reconstruction of urban underground pipe network has also been included in the scope of "dual" construction support, and extra long term special treasury bond funds have been arranged to exceed 290 billion yuan. Zhao Chengfeng, head of the fixed assets investment Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, introduced that in 2025, the central budget will invest to set up a special urban renewal project to support the construction of public welfare infrastructure and public service facilities related to urban renewal. On the basis of supporting projects such as the transformation of old urban communities and villages in cities, we will expand and support projects such as the transformation and quality improvement of old urban housing and old blocks (factories). At present, the National Development and Reform Commission is working hard to organize plan applications and project reviews, and will issue the 2025 urban renewal special central budget investment plan by the end of June this year. At the same time, we will continue to support the urban underground pipe network and facilities construction and reconstruction projects in the "dual" construction ultra long term special treasury bond fund arrangement. It is worth mentioning that the State Administration for Financial Regulation is formulating specialized loan management measures for urban renewal projects. Liao Yuanyuan, Director of the Statistics and Risk Monitoring Department of the State Administration of Financial Regulation, explained that the new measures focus on urban renewal actions themselves. By implementing the management of urban renewal project lists, the conditions and processes for financial institution loans are clarified, guiding financial institutions to better meet the reasonable financing needs of urban renewal projects and effectively increasing financial support. (New Society)