China welcomes the world to bring projects to the Xiongan New Area, to help spare Beijing of functions unrelated to its status as national capital, an official said during the first session of the 13th National People's Congress.

"The planning and construction of the Xiongan New Area is in steady progress," said He Lifeng, minister of the National Development and Reform Commission.

According to He, up to 12 design teams from home and abroad have been working on the planning brief of the Xiongan New Area, and at present the brief was basically completed. "Some projects, such as the intercity railway between Beijing and Xiongan, and the afforestation project, have already started," He said.

There will be seven highly effective internal organizations set up in the new area, where a batch of talent will be set up to work, he added.

He noted in the future, construction of the Xiongan New area will advance steadily. Some projects now located in Beijing which are unrelated to the nation's capital function will be transferred to Xiongan gradually, after careful consideration.

Meanwhile, some existing problems, like the remediation of the waterway electrical apparatus in the area and the renovation of Xiongan area's freshwater Baiyangdian Lake, should be addressed in time.