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Sichuan officials are planning to lead the province to the forefront
of the western economy during the next decade.
The goal is in line with the central government's western development
strategy, said Zhou Yongkang, secretary of the Sichuan provincial
committee of the Communist Party of China.
Rapid economic take-off of the province, which boasts a population
of 85 million and an area of 485,000 square kilometers, would
be of national significance, the secretary said.
Zhou said Sichuan is a large province in western China, but
not a strong one, despite the fact both its population and GDP
account for about one-third of the regional total.
Zhou said Sichuan has inadequate pillar industries. Major firms
were formed during the "Third Line Construction" period
in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, when China moved its
industries from its coasts to the interior for national defence.
Lacking flexible operating mechanisms, the industries are not
competitive on the market, Zhou said.
Sichuan has 1.1 million scientists and technicians. But many
fruits of their research do not find their way onto the market,
Zhou said.
To be an economically strong province in western China, Sichuan
will strive to have its per capita GDP match the national average
by 2010.
Last year, its per capita GDP was only 4,450 yuan (US$537),
US$253 less than the national average.
To reach the goal, it will accelerate infrastructure construction,
Zhou said.
Sichuan has 800 kilometers of expressways, ranking first in
the western regions. There are plans to increase that number
to 1,700 kilometers by 2005. High and new technologies will
be depended on to build six pillar industries: hydropower, electronic
information, mechanical metallurgy, medical chemicals, tourism
and foodstuffs, to prop up economic development, he said.
In a recent report, the World Trade Organization designated
Sichuan as a prime destination for ecological and cultural tourism
in China.
Twenty-four places in China are included on the list of World
Heritage Sites of United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization. Three are in Sichuan.
Chengdu, Deyang and Mianyang cities are Sichuan's most advanced
regions in terms of economic and technological development.
Electronic information, modern medicine and biological products
and new material industries in the area are taking shape. Their
GDP now accounts for 44 per cent of Sichuan's total. By 2005,
that number should rise to 54 per cent to lead economic development,
Zhou said.
The Panzhihua-Xichang region holds most of the hopes for future
progress, Zhou said.
Covering only 0.7 percent of China's territory, the region boasts
11 percent of its water resources, 13 percent of its iron, 93
percent of its titanium, 69 percent of its vanadium and 82 percent
of its cobalt.
However, lack of top-notch talent with management and administration
competence and a sense of innovation and foresight is holding
back development, Zhou said.
The province must open wider to the outside world to introduce
fresh visionaries, he added.
Sichuan has economic and trade ties with 136 countries and regions.
Some 311 overseas firms and 13 foreign financial organizations
have representative offices in the province. Some 32 Fortune
500 firms have direct investment in area projects and 40 have
representative offices.
Sichuan has formulated new preferential policies such as tax
breaks and exemptions to encourage foreign investment.
Foreign investors can pass all formalities for approval of their
firms in Sichuan within 20 working days if they meet investment
requirements, Zhou said.
He said building an ecological screen in the upper reaches of
the Yangtze River is aimed to ensure Sichuan's own sustainable
development and contribute to the middle and lower reaches of
the river.
Sichuan, in the upper reaches of the Yangtze, was the first
in China to ban logging of primitive forests in 1998.
Some 200,000 hectares of farmland have been turned into forests
and grassland. It plans to reclaim another 466,667 hectares
and plant 2.9 million hectares of trees during the 10th Five-Year
Plan (2001-05), greatly reducing the amount of silt discharged
into the Yangtze, Zhou said.
(China Daily 08/14/2000)
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