(Yicai Global) Dec. 26 -- China's cabinet, the State Council, has approved Shanghai's plan to cap its permanent resident population at 25 million as it looks to become an eco-friendly cosmopolitan city and enhance ties with surrounding areas.

The urban plan spans from 2017 through 2035 and will set high standards for Shanghai's future in terms of layout, environmental protection, culture, infrastructure and governance. Under the strategy, the city will look to limit land for construction to 3,200 square kilometers, curb emissions and protect the atmosphere, water and soil to meet environmental protection targets, weed out excess production capacity and strengthen urban management.

The cabinet's approval cements Shanghai's development direction on a national level and will see it stand out as a distinguished global city, Sun Yuanxin, vice president of the Institute of Free Trade Zone under Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, told Shanghai Securities News.

Shanghai's plans should line up with the Yangtze River Delta region's development strategy to fulfill its potential as a central city and improve coordination with surrounding regions to form a world-class city cluster. This will help the river region grow stronger faster, said Zhang Zhaoan, deputy director at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Economic Research.