West China regions have reported an annual average economic
growth rate of 10.7 percent for six straight years up to last year,
owing to a national strategy to develop the area.?
Their combined gross domestic product (GDP) reached 3.33
trillion yuan (US$416.25 billion) last year, compared with 1.66
trillion yuan in 2000, when the central government launched the
strategy to help the relatively backward west catch up with the
more prosperous east.
Moreover, the economic growth gap between the two regions fell
to 0.4 of a percentage point last year from 1.9 percentage points
six years ago, said Wang Jinxiang, deputy head of the Leading Group
Office under the State Council for the Development of the Western
Regions.
Fixed assets investment grew by 23 percent annually and local
revenue by an average of 15.5 percent.
The development plan involves 12 provinces, autonomous regions
and municipalities, covering seven million square kilometers and a
population of about 370 million.
These regions lag far behind the more prosperous east due to
harsh natural conditions, inadequate transport links and geography
among other reasons.
By the end of last year, the government had invested one
trillion yuan (US$125 billion) to develop transport, water
conservancy facilities, energy resources and telecommunications
services in the western regions, Wang said.
It also launched several projects to restore and improve the
environment, with the reforestation of 5.65 million hectares of
farmland, 7.71 million hectares of barren hills and wasteland.
Ecological deterioration was curbed with grazing banned on 19.33
million hectares of grassland.
Owing to the successful implementation of the plan, 89.5 percent
of villages are now linked by highway, 99 percent of townships have
power supplies and more than 36 million rural people have access to
clean drinking water. The government also relocated 1.22 million
people in abject poverty to places with better natural
conditions.
Furthermore, with an improving investment environment, the
western regions have been able to attract more investors from home
and abroad, said Wang.
More than 30,000 enterprises from east China invested a total of
600 billion yuan in the west, which saw foreign trade total
US$164.3 billion from 2000 to 2005, with foreign funds utilization
peaking at US$11.2 billion.
(Xinhua News Agency August 31, 2006)