In a fresh attempt to improve policy co-ordination, four government bodies are testing a new combined planning regime in 28 locations. They straddle China’s developed east as well as its less developed western regions. The trials will see multiple plans combined within clearly-defined urban areas, in order to eliminate incompatibilities between individual plans. The new system aims to tackle a deep-seated problem of poor co-ordination and wasteful growth. Included in the new mechanism are the National Reform and Development Commission’s plans for economic and social development, the Ministry of Land Resources’ planning for land use, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development’s urban-rural plans, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection’s planning for protection of the environment. If combined planning can be well implemented, it could prevent problems such as unfettered expansion in the west of China, and the changes are essential for environmental reasons. Currently, China's eastern coastal provinces have already seen a period of over-expansion and now need to plan for optimization, whereas western China remains less developed and suffers from weak management. Therefore, currently for the east of China this merging of plans is a response to its own needs, while the west of China is a passive recipient. The gLAWcal Team EPSEI project Thursday, 27 November 2014 (Source: China Dialogue)