A plan for boosting the joint development of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei province will be published "soon", China Securities Journal said on Monday.
The dream of integrated development among Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province will remain just that, experts said, unless existing barriers to the proposal can be hurdled.
Top leaders in Hebei believe the province will benefit from economic coordination in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, while accommodating more people to ease pressure on infrastructure and services in the two municipalities.
China is hoping the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting in November, the first it will host in 13 years, will help "speed up" economic integration in the region and "bring it to a new level".
Beijing and Hebei province signed a framework agreement for the capital's economic zone covering bordering areas of the two regions from 2013 to 2015.