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 12 million US
dollars, 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)