A project to promote the sustainable development of Chinese cities was launched in Beijing Friday by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the China International Center for Economic and Technological Exchanges (CICETE).

The three-year project, City Planning, Management and Development in the 21st Century (City PMD), with a total input of US$12 million, is one of the largest projects ever launched by the UNDP.

Under the project, six cities were chosen as pilot areas to develop their economies, restructure their industries, improve the environment, and raise the quality of life, particularly for the poor.

The six pilot cities, both with an old and more modern industrial structure, represent small, medium and large cities and cities from the western, central and eastern parts of China.

Macleod Nyirongo, senior deputy resident representative of the UNDP, said that the pilot cities had different social-economic development backgrounds.

"The diversified pilots' experiences and lessons could be meaningful references to formulate nationwide policy recommendations," he added.

The project could help city governments to provide high quality public services, raise efficiency and increase transparency, and the results of this project could be shared with other cities, Nyirongo added.

International and national experts will be invited to provide advice on the strategic social and economic development plans of Chinese cities, and work on a series of reports and a Policy Recommendation Paper on national urban policy through research and integration of the pilot-based experience and lessons.

CICETE Director Sun Yongfu said urbanization propelled the rapid development of China's economy, but the contradictions brought about by the urbanization also increased. To formulate and implement a sustainable urban plan was an important foundation to solve these contradictions and promote the cities' development.

The six cities are Guiyang, capital of southwest China's Guizhou Province; Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province; Liuzhou, a major industrial city in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region; Meishan, a city in southwest China's Sichuan Province; Sanmenxia, a city in central China's Henan Province; and Taiyuan, capital of north China's Shanxi Province.

(Xinhua News Agency September 13, 2002)