A Chinese media outlet reported on Wednesday that the Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei regions had reached an agreement to appoint Hebei's Baoding as the political sub-capital, but several government officials denied the report the same day, Shanghai-based China Business News reported.

In the report, the media outlet claimed that Baoding was selected because of its location and because it would help stimulate Hebei's economy significantly.

An official from the National Development and Reform Commission, which directs China's macroeconomic policy, said that he had not learned about the news from the media outlet until Wednesday afternoon and that the information had not been officially confirmed.

A municipal secretary general in Baoding also denied the rumor that the city, which borders Beijing, had been selected as a political sub-capital.

Whether Baoding becomes the sub-capital or not will reflect upon the integration between Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.

On Wednesday, Hebei concept stocks rose on the rumors surrounding the selection of the sub-capital. The news of a possible integration between the Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei regions garnered unprecedented attention.

The joint development of the region is not a new subject and had been discussed for two decades, said Bo Wenguang, an associate professor at the School of Economics at Nankai University.

In 2013, the joint development of the three cities had entered a new stage in the context of controlling the smog problem, with the decision-making body raising the possibility of a new level of integration this year.

Zhang Gui, vice director at a research center for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region at the Hebei University of Technology, explained that external factors, such as the worsening environmental conditions, air pollution and insufficient water resources would force the three cities to interact with one another more closely.

Zhang added that the main difference in the new plan of integration is that Chinese leaders want to facilitate the development directly, raising the status of joint development to the state level, however, Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei are not necessarily aiming for the same goals.

The central government wants to facilitate the integration to build a stronger economy, while the capital city hopes to ease population pressure through collaboration with the Hebei region. At the same time, Hebei wanted to jumpstart its development with the help of Beijing.