Why is the Politburo meeting focusing on urban parking lots?

Beibei District in Chongqing has transformed a landfill into an eco-friendly parking lot, effectively easing the parking difficulties faced by local residents. Pictured is the eco‑parking lot at the east entrance of Zhuangyuan Fudi. Photo by Qin Tingfu. (People Visual)

On July 30, 2019, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee convened a meeting, sending out several major policy signals. The meeting called for stabilizing investment in the manufacturing sector, implementing projects to address infrastructure shortcomings—such as renovating old urban residential areas, building urban parking facilities, and developing cold-chain logistics networks in both urban and rural areas—and accelerating the development of new types of infrastructure, including information networks. Among them “Urban parking facilities,” as an important component of “new infrastructure,” have been mentioned for the first time.

With the tone set by the Politburo meeting, urban parking‑lot development—centered on smart parking—will emerge as a promising new pillar for consumer‑driven investment, while the longstanding challenges that have long plagued the public… The issue of “difficulty in finding parking” will also be gradually addressed as part of this vigorous round of “new infrastructure” development.

Spend money where it matters most.

As is well known, investment is a key driver of economic growth. One of the “three driving forces.” As China’s economy has shifted from a phase of rapid growth to one of high-quality development, the mindset and approach to spending must also evolve. Over the past few decades, much of China’s investment was directed toward traditional infrastructure—often referred to as “iron, public works, and basic facilities”—including railways, highways, airports, ports, and water‑conservation projects. These investments played a crucial role in China’s economic development; the slogan that once echoed across the country, “If you want to get rich, build roads first,” was a reflection of their impact. However, times have changed: after more than two decades of breakneck growth, traditional infrastructure in China has largely reached saturation, its stimulative effect on the economy has begun to diminish—exhibiting diminishing marginal returns—and local government debt risks have started to mount. Under these new circumstances, how to spend wisely and ensure that resources are allocated where they can deliver the greatest value has become a central concern. To address this, the central authorities have prescribed two targeted remedies: Addressing Weaknesses and New Infrastructure. As early as In September 2018, the National Development and Reform Commission held a special press conference, stating that it would “ensure that limited funds are directed toward areas that can expand effective supply and address development bottlenecks, thereby promoting high-quality development.” Ma Qiang, Deputy Director-General of the NDRC’s Department of Basic Industries, noted that China’s transportation infrastructure still has numerous shortcomings and significant room for improvement, making it a key sector for boosting effective investment. At the Central Economic Work Conference later that year, the concept of “new infrastructure” was introduced for the first time. The meeting emphasized “leveraging the pivotal role of investment… strengthening the construction of new types of infrastructure such as artificial intelligence, the industrial internet, and the Internet of Things, while increasing investment in intercity transportation, logistics, and municipal infrastructure, and addressing gaps in rural infrastructure and public service facilities.” Seen in this light, the Politburo meeting on July 30 this year, which specifically highlighted urban parking facilities, represents a refinement and further elaboration of the earlier approach of “addressing weaknesses through new infrastructure.” As Pan Jiaofeng, President of the Institute of Science and Technology Strategy Consulting at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, put it: “Investing in new infrastructure not only means closing traditional infrastructure gaps but also laying a solid foundation for long-term development.” In the future, resolving urban parking challenges will depend on the support provided by new‑infrastructure technologies such as big data and the Internet of Things. From this perspective, urban parking‑lot development stands at the intersection of efforts to address existing shortcomings and initiatives under the new‑infrastructure agenda. A trillion-dollar market remains untapped. The development of urban parking facilities not only boosts effective investment but also holds the potential to become a new driver of consumption. How large is the market for urban parking? According to the “White Paper on the Development of the Parking Industry,” jointly released by the Tsinghua Tongheng Planning and Design Research Institute in Beijing and the China Urban Public Transportation Association, merely… In 2016, China’s parking‑related spending had already reached 400 billion yuan. Behind these abstract figures lies a tangible gap between supply and demand. According to data from the Traffic Management Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, as of June 2019, China’s vehicle stock had climbed to 250 million, with 66 cities each boasting more than one million vehicles; Beijing and Chengdu alone exceeded five million cars. Yet the average ratio of cars to parking spaces in Chinese cities stands at roughly 1:0.8—far below the 1:1.3 seen in developed countries. Moreover, the growth rate of parking spaces struggles to keep pace with the rapid increase in vehicle numbers. To address the parking shortage, efforts must also focus on boosting parking‑space utilization. According to the ETCP Smart Parking Industry Research Institute, vacancy rates in parking lots across Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen reach 44.6%, while nationwide, over 90% of parking spaces operate at utilization levels below 50%. The report further notes that once occupancy rises to 80%—as in Shanghai and Chongqing—the available parking supply would surpass demand. Thus, the coexistence of “difficulty finding parking” and “parking spaces left empty” stems directly from inefficient information flows, which depress overall utilization rates. Driven by growing demand, a wave of smart‑parking startups has emerged. Among them, industry leaders such as Jieshun, Tingjianan, and Kotuo have secured investments from tech giants Alibaba and Tencent. With the dual support of favorable policies and capital, the parking sector may soon undergo a comprehensive transformation. Industry insiders point out that, compared with developed markets, China’s parking market still has substantial room for expansion. In advanced economies, parking‑related expenditures typically account for nearly 1% of GDP; extrapolating this trend, China could harbor a potential market worth trillions of yuan waiting to be unlocked. Tackling the most pressing issues affecting people’s livelihoods “Difficulty in finding parking” Xiao Chen, who works as a night-shift editor at a Beijing-based media outlet, is… The issue of “difficulty finding parking” is a deeply frustrating one. Mr. Chen told us that his residential complex was built before the year 2000 and has no underground garage. All the cars belonging to the more than 200 households in the community are parked on the ground within the compound. Because the number of parking spaces falls short of the number of residents, the community prohibits residents from installing wheel locks, leaving all spaces available for public use. “In fact, this is a good policy—parking utilization is very high during the day, and most cars can find a spot without difficulty. But things change when I get home after a late‑night shift,” Mr. Chen said with a wry smile. By then, the lot is already full, with vehicles even blocking fire lanes. “The driver even wrote on the temporary‑parking slip, ‘Sorry, there’s really nowhere else to park.’” According to Mr. Chen, on one occasion he circled the neighborhood three times, spending a full 40 minutes searching for a space before finally squeezing into a tiny gap. While night shifts may not be typical for everyone, Mr. Chen’s concerns are emblematic. “Right next to our community stands a commercial office building with an underground garage holding over 200 spaces. At night, those spots sit empty—but we’re not allowed to use them. Why can’t these spaces be opened up at night? Even if we had to pay a small fee, that would be fine,” he said. In reality, companies offering smart‑parking solutions are already addressing this very issue. For example, Jie Parking has launched a “Off‑Peak Monthly Pass” feature that, when local parking lots are full at night, directs drivers to nearby shopping centers with ample availability. However, industry insiders point out that because parking infrastructure is owned by multiple entities, managed independently, and fraught with coordination challenges—and because a unified information network remains lacking—scaling such models faces significant hurdles. Now, following the Politburo’s explicit call to prioritize urban parking‑lot development, it is expected that local governments will roll out corresponding policies. By mediating competing interests and breaking down “information silos,” these measures can leverage the government’s unique capacity to tackle problems that private enterprises alone cannot solve, thereby helping to alleviate the persistent public‑health concern of “difficulty finding parking.”