Research on the Functional Interaction of Cities Adjacent to the China-foreign Border

Author: Zhang Lijun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-03-01
Features: China has an extensive land border, stretching from the Yalu River estuary in Dandong City, Liaoning Province, in the east to the Beibu Gulf coast of Fangchenggang City, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, in the west, with a total length of approximately 22,000 kilometers. Nine provinces and autonomous regions border 15 countries and regions, with 19,000 kilometers belonging to ethnic minority autonomous areas, accounting for 90%. Along this long border, due to its unique geographical and spatial location at the intersection of China and foreign countries, border cities have formed a "symbiotic" situation where they stand side by side and overlook each other across the border. The existence and development of these cities have not led to a vicious cycle of functional redundancy and overlap, but rather have created conditions for the normal functioning, optimization, and corresponding development of each other's city functions, providing a necessary premise for the economic development of the border regions between neighboring countries and the overall national economic development. We refer to this intercity relationship as "benign functional interaction between border cities." In the process of economic development in border regions, the functional interaction between border cities and neighboring border cities of adjacent countries is a concentrated reflection and key to achieving regional overall development.