Aerial photo taken on March 29, 2018 shows the citizen service center of Xiong'an in north China's Hebei Province, March 29, 2018. This year marks the 40th anniversary of China's starting to implement reform and opening up policy. (Xinhua/Mou Yu)

A number of headquarters of China's state-owned enterprises are exiting Beijing as the city continues phasing out non-capital functions.

In 2021 alone, at least five central SOEs have decided to relocate their headquarters out of Beijing, according to information compiled by the Global Times.

At the end of September, China Electric Equipment Group relocated its headquarter from Beijing to Shanghai with a registered capital of 100 million yuan ($15.65 million).

On September 26, the headquarters of China Three Gorges Group Co was officially relocated from Beijing to Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province.

China Satellite Network Group moved to Xiong'an New Area in north China's Heibei Province in April as the first vice-ministerial level central enterprise with its headquarters in Xiong'an. Also in April Sinochem Holding established its headquarters in Xiong'an.

China Huaneng Group is in close talk with authorities in Xiong'an to relocate their headquarters to the area, according to the official website of the group as of August.

Since 2014, Beijing has begun to phase out non-capital core functions with manufacturing, logistics, and wholesale markets being gradually relocated to ease Beijing's "urban diseases," the municipal government said.

The much discussed Xiong'an is expected to become a new home for many of Beijing's non-capital functions.

In July, officials from the office of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Integrated Development revealed that it will accelerate the transaction of universities and headquarters of central SOEs affiliated to ministries and commissions from Beijing to Xiong'an New Area across managed stages to reduce Beijing's non-capital functions.

There are a total of 97 central SOEs in China, according to the latest directory released by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council (SASAC), with 34 headquartered in Beijing, five in Shanghai, three in Hong Kong and two in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province.