E_CBD: Model Innovation of International Financial and Trade Center in the 21st Century

Author: Zhuang Ling, Jing Yiping
Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-11-01
Features: A virtual CBD is on the horizon. Information technology has a strong enhancing effect on the functions of a CBD at three different levels. These levels are sequentially progressive: the basic support level, the single-function level, and the system function level.
Below is the basic support level, which primarily involves electronic money and electronic data interchange technology. It mainly acts on the operational foundation of a modern urban CBD, elevating it to a higher platform. On this new technological platform, the CBD is no longer merely a regional carrier for international finance, factor trade, and modern services but becomes an important link and active subject in the entire transaction process.
In the middle is the single-function level, which primarily involves global networks and virtual reality technology. It mainly acts on the various functional domains within a modern urban CBD, updating and elevating each functional component. For example, virtual banking, which facilitates fund transfers and financing through the Internet global network, can cross borders instantly, and financial, insurance, and securities information from various CBDs around the world can be disseminated immediately.
At the top is the system function level, which primarily involves the systematic integration of information technology. It mainly acts on the overall functions of a modern urban CBD, enabling it to innovate and reach a completely new business model: a virtual CBD. A "virtual CBD" refers to a virtual CBD that is relatively independent of traditional physical CBDs and possesses complete functions. It includes all the single functions of a traditional CBD, but it is not simply the sum of all financial, trade, and intermediary service functions. Instead, it emerges with a system-wide function far exceeding the arithmetic sum of all single functions, marking a "pinnacle" in the history of CBD development.
A virtual CBD cannot emerge out of thin air; it is a product of the integration of modern urban CBDs with new information technology. It is precisely the practical advancement of modern information technology in traditional CBDs that creates the sufficient and necessary conditions for the transformation of a virtual CBD from a theoretical model to reality. However, once a virtual CBD takes shape, it can stand out within a certain time and under certain conditions, operate relatively independently outside the physical CBD, and fulfill its unique functions.
The attractive "future" of virtual CBDs has thus been brought to the world after much anticipation. Many existing and planned CBDs around the world are eager to give it a try. The question is, in this global competition, who will be the first to succeed?
Eco-type residential commercial districts, for a considerable period, were a source of pride for traditional CBD "white-collar" workers, who resided in "countryside villa areas" within a 1-2-hour (by car or subway) radius outside the central district. Although they had to endure the morning sun each day, driving through long traffic jams or hurrying to nearby subway stations with their briefcases, and then reversing their journey home in the evening, their sense of well-being compensated for the time and physical exhaustion.
However, with the approaching new century, this mindset was challenged. Catchy slogans like "Don't let life be wasted on the road!" became increasingly frequent in their sight and ears, influencing and guiding their subconscious ideas about residential location choices. Returning their residential choices to the CBD areas where they worked and started businesses became a consensus among most new-generation "white-collar" workers.
In fact, the evolution of employee residential theories in international financial and trade centers can, in a certain sense, be seen as a repetition of the "negation of the negation" law in this field. After the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, the emergence and widespread use of automobiles pushed many "cities" in Europe and America to the brink of an environmental crisis. The urban structure model extending from the medieval horse-drawn carriage era—characterized by high-density urban populations, crowded living environments, and industrial pollution—became particularly pronounced with traffic congestion.
Roads were continuously widened, sidewalks became increasingly narrow, and the constant flow of cars made people uneasy. Most city centers fell into chaos. Additionally, early-formed commercial streets, whether in terms of layout (the best locations were department stores, with other streets lined with parallel specialty shops and service facilities), product offerings, or housing quality, were no longer in harmony with modern life. High land prices, narrow streets, severe air and noise pollution, inconvenient living conditions, and a lack of parking spaces made the "white-collar" workers and their families who originally lived in the city center unbearable. As a result, they moved to the suburbs, and retailers followed suit, gradually leading to the decline of the once prosperous central districts.
For example, cities like Philadelphia and Baltimore in the United States in the 1960s experienced this situation. Meanwhile, shopping centers in suburban areas developed accordingly. In English, shopping centers are often referred to as "shopping centers," while in the United States, "malls" are more commonly used. They generally refer to comprehensive, multi-faceted, and large-scale intensive commercial and retail centers. They are usually planned and coordinated by a management agency, organizing a series of retail stores and supermarkets within a group of buildings.
Suburban shopping centers in U.S. cities are typically located near highways, primarily consisting of a complex of buildings or a group of buildings, surrounded by large parking lots (medium-sized shopping centers can accommodate 1,000–2,000 vehicles). Among them, supermarkets are large stores that primarily supply subsidiary food products and also sell some daily necessities. They are typically self-service with only a small number of staff. Their basic characteristics are self-service and low prices, giving them strong competitiveness in the retail sector. For example, in the 1960s, the 20,000+ supermarkets in the United States, despite selling only 1/10 of the traditional food varieties, achieved 70% of the sales volume.
Due to the relocation of commercial centers, the central districts experienced a "ebb tide" phase, with declining sales and reduced social, cultural, scenic, and commercial activities. The historically formed cohesion weakened, affecting the comprehensive competitiveness of the cities. This situation drew widespread attention. However, high-end residential areas and shopping centers could not simply return to their former state or retain the old form of traditional commercial streets. They had to be integrated with the renovation plans of old cities, reevaluating and rerecognizing urban space: reevaluating the impact of urban space and environmental art on people, rerecognizing the role, value, and dominant influence of people in shaping urban space, and rerecognizing the significance of the return of central commercial districts in creating urban landscape characteristics and enriching the urban environment culture.
In this context, the proposal of the E-CBD model brought new vitality to the business district. Compared to traditional central districts, the E-CBD eco-type residential commercial district has a series of innovative features. For example, the living environment is not only beautiful but also meets the best standards in terms of air quality, water quality, and noise control. Shopping locations are not only nearby commercial centers but also online shopping malls and mail-order department stores within and outside the park. Of course, the most prominent feature is undoubtedly the 21st-century smart residential community centered around "DOHO."
DOHO (digital home-office) refers to a "digital home office," also known as an "intelligent home equipped with digital office facilities." It is the latest generation of intelligent residential development in human history and the latest generation of high-end white-collar residential models introduced in the information technology era after SOHO. It is most suitable for high-level employees of international financial and insurance institutions, multinational companies, and modern intermediary service industries working in international financial and trade centers.
The pursuit of modern society's families is safety, convenience, comfort, and diversified information services. The concept of intelligent homes was first proposed and prototype homes were built in the late 20th century. Due to the development of communication and information technology, various communication, household appliances, and security equipment in homes were equipped with "bus technology," enabling automatic monitoring and feedback management within a certain range according to preset programs and instructions, hence earning the name "intelligent."
The development of the new Internet economy is not only a technological revolution but also greatly changes people's thinking and behavior patterns. The key feature of building intelligence is: networking, intelligence, humanization, and personalization. Networking has changed people's concepts of time and space, making home offices and small office home offices (SOHO) increasingly popular, as electronic networks deeply embed themselves into traditional work and life models. People accept intelligent products into their work and lives not only out of curiosity but more importantly out of need. In the building space of eco-type residential districts, smart systems based on networks, integrating wired and wireless, fixed and mobile, are increasingly entering the lives of homeowners.
What intelligent systems bring to people is not just products but more importantly a service model and service philosophy.
The practical significance of E-CBD in the western development strategy of China
The E-CBDs of China's super-large international economic centers are mainly located in the eastern coastal regions. So, what is the significance of the innovative E-CBD model in China's western development in the 21st century, and how feasible is it for central and western cities in relatively underdeveloped economic regions to build E-CBDs?
In the early days of reform and opening up, many western provinces and regions emphasized the various primary resources in their introduction at foreign investment promotion conferences or import and export trade fairs. In promotional materials for investment projects or export products, they highlighted the development of unique natural resources and the exploitation of natural resource advantages as important development strategies for western provinces and regions. This played a very positive role at that time in history.
However, there were also some issues that needed deeper consideration. For example, the advantage of natural resources and primary products must be transformed into industrial advantages through processing to enhance their technical content and added value; foreign investment requires a detailed understanding of local transportation and labor costs, residents' purchasing power, export market capacity, and transportation and delivery guarantees. Without understanding the latest supply and demand dynamics in the global market, the export of agricultural and primary resource products is prone to unequal exchange. Additionally, there are constraints such as the traffic bottleneck formed by being far from the main maritime ports in the east (e.g., the road and rail freight distance from Hotan in Xinjiang to Lianyungang exceeds 5,000 kilometers).
Practical experience in development and opening up has shown that relying solely on hosting or participating in various promotional and investment conferences within and outside the region, even in foreign countries, is not enough. It is essential to build CBDs within the economic centers of western regions.
The economic advancement of the eastern coastal regions and the historical trend of economic globalization have brought precious opportunities to the central and western regions. When the geographical agglomeration of production factors reaches a certain scale, the labor and land costs in the eastern developed regions continue to rise, prompting the allocation and transmission of resources to shift from developed areas to underdeveloped regions in the west. The state's western development strategy proposed at the turn of the century was a response to this objective trend, correctly grasping and guiding the economic structure of the entire country.
However, the rise of central and western regions will not happen overnight. It requires extraordinary efforts and innovation in economic systems and mechanisms. The construction of E-CBDs is precisely the brilliant move for western provinces and regions to leap forward.
The resource allocation of E-CBDs in central and western regions can facilitate the transformation of advantageous resources into competitive industries. This transformation is achieved through the optimal allocation of production factors in several areas. First, it promotes the exchange and transmission of various production factors between the central and western regions and the eastern regions, effectively attracting capital, technology, and talent from the developed eastern regions to the west, gradually optimizing the economic structure of the central and western regions. For the developed eastern regions, the radiation of advanced production factors not only changes the backward appearance of the western regions but also opens up new growth spaces and development opportunities for the eastern regions.
Second, it promotes the exchange and transmission of resources in central and western provinces and regions with the global market as a reference. Seizing the favorable opportunities of China's entry into the WTO and catching up with the trend of economic globalization, they should expand their late-developing advantages and carry out comprehensive strategic adjustments in terms of production, circulation, and forms of ownership based on their characteristics.
E-CBDs can serve as a permanent investment promotion center, leveraging the market potential and added value potential after resource development to attract advanced and applicable foreign technology and investment. They can guide the reasonable combination of labor-intensive industries, capital-intensive industries, technology-intensive industries, and knowledge-intensive industries, effectively utilizing both domestic and international resources, advancing the technological transformation and revolution in the central and western regions, driving industrialization with informatization, establishing characteristic economies and advantageous industries with broad market prospects, cultivating and forming new growth points, and achieving the optimal utilization of resources on a global scale and rapid regional economic development.