Chinese officials have expressed their readiness to offer more
support for the development of the Pan-Pearl River Delta
Region.
State Development and Reform Commission Vice Minister Liu Jiang
said at the opening of the First Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional
Cooperation and Development Forum in Hong Kong Tuesday that
regional development plans would be given priority in drafting the
nation's next five-year plan.
He said that the central government would support the
construction and administration of land ports and help to
accelerate the construction of large infrastructure projects.
Wang Zhaocheng, vice minister of railways, said that Pan-Pearl
River Region railway development will center on increasing
passenger transportation capacity and constructing trans-city
lines.
New lines to be built will include those linking Guangdong
with China's central and northern regions; the southeast coastal
provinces and the Yangtze delta region; and those between
southwestern and eastern China. The Pearl River regional
Guangzhou-Shenzhen and Guangzhou-Zhuhai lines will be built by
2010, said Wang.
Minister of Communications Zhang Chunxian said his ministry has
drafted a plan to build 22 expressways with a total length of
30,000 kilometers in the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region. The plan is
part of the effort to extend and consolidate Hong Kong's role as an
international shipping and logistics center. He added that nine the
20 major ports scheduled to be built nationwide are in the
Pan-Pearl River Delta Region.
Sun Gang, vice director of the National Tourism Administration,
suggested closer cooperation within the region's tourism industry
to enhance the competitiveness of the regional market.
The Pan-Pearl River Delta Region includes provinces of
Guangdong, Hainan, Guizhou, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Sichuan, Hunan, Fujian
and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, as well as the Hong Kong
and Macao special administrative regions.
The three-day forum will continue in Macao and Guangzhou.
(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2004)