The central government has vowed to attract heavy investment into
environmental protection work and development in its vast western
regions, following Party General Secretary Jiang Zemin's call to
build China into a "well-off" society within two decades.
The government plans to invest more than 500 billion yuan (US$60.5
billion) in planting trees and restoring grasslands in its 12
western provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities by 2010,
said Li Zibin, deputy director of the Office of the Leading Group
under the State Council for the Development of the Western
Regions.
In
the last three years, the central government has injected some 260
billion yuan (US$31.3 billion) into developing China's vast western
areas, according to data obtained Tuesday at the Media Center of
the ongoing 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of
China.
Of
the total, about 200 billion yuan (US$24 billion) were allocated
for infrastructure, 50 billion yuan (US$6 billion) for
environmental protection, while over 10 billion (US$1.2 billion)
went to social undertakings.
In
addition, 160 billion yuan (US$19 billion), or over one-third of
the long-term state treasury bonds was used for western
development. The central government also transferred 300 billion
yuan (US$36 billion) of payment to the western areas. Moreover,
outstanding loans from financial institutions in the western region
increased by more than 600 billion yuan (US$72 billion) in the
three years.
9.6 Percent GDP Increase in First Nine Months
The gross domestic product (GDP) of China's western regions, which
scored a 8.5 and 8.7 percent growth in 2000 and 2001 respectively,
maintained a growth rate of 9.6 percent in the first three quarters
of this year, higher than the national average, according to
Li.
China's strategy of developing its vast western hinterland has
progressed smoothly and achieved conspicuous results, said Li, also
vice minister in charge of the State Development Planning
Commission, at the press conference.
"Thanks to correct guidelines and effective measures adopted by the
central government, the western regions in the past three years
have enjoyed a rapid growth of economy and investment inflow," he
said.
Meanwhile, a host of major infrastructure projects, including the
hugely-invested Qinghai-Tibet Railway on the "terrace of the world"
and the west-east natural gas pipeline project, have been launched,
mainly with central government funding, he added.
"The Develop-the-West strategy is a great practice of implementing
the important thought of Three Representatives and of building a
well-off society," he said.
The western regions on the development list consist of 11 provinces
and autonomous regions as well as a municipality, which have a
total area of 6.85 million square kilometers and a 364 million
population. The average per capita GDP there, however, only
accounts for some 40 percent of that in the more developed eastern
coastal regions.
China launched the western development campaign in 1999, with
Premier Zhu Rongji serving concurrently as head of the State
Council Leading Group for the Development of the Western
Regions.
Eco-protection: Win-Win for West Development
The three-year old Develop-the-West Strategy has proved that in the
process of industrialization, sustainable development is only a
dream without ecological protection.
Priority has been given to protecting and improving the ecological
environment in the implementation of China's strategy of developing
its vast western hinterland, officials from the central government
and western regions said Tuesday.
China launched this year a massive campaign in 25 of its provinces,
autonomous regions and municipalities to return farmland to forest
land, said Li Zibin.
"By the end of September this year, a total of 44.18 million
mu (2.95 million hectares) of farmland had been converted to
forest land and 44.03 million mu (2.94 million hectares) of
wasteland and barren mountain slopes had been planted with trees,"
said Li.
In
the past three years, China has also spent some 2 billion yuan
(US$241 million) on the protection and restoration of natural
grassland, said Li, adding that the country will also kick off a
project to restore the vigor of one billion mu (66.7 million
hectares) of degraded grassland in five years by reducing or
stopping grazing on such grassland.
Abdul'ahat Abdulrixit, chairman of northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur
Autonomous Regional Government, also briefed the press on how his
region has handled the relationship between local economic
development and environmental protection.
"Situated in the deep hinterland of Eurasia, Xinjiang has a quite
fragile ecological environment featuring mainly arid deserts or
half-arid oases," said the chairman. "Therefore, we have laid great
emphasis on eco-environment protection and improvement in the
process of regional development."
The region has invested 10.7 billion yuan (US$1.29 billion) in
pollution control and a comprehensive treatment of the Tarim River,
China's longest inland river, and imposed a total ban on logging of
virgin forests or any destruction of vegetation in the deserts, he
added.
"We are also making every effort to control desertification and
expand the area of forests and grassland through the reforestation
of farmland," he said.
However, the good-looking picture hasn't eased some farmers'
immediate concerns. With the declining of farmland, where can they
earn a living, as they depend on produces for eating and making
money? Herdsmen also need grassland. But some farmers are still
chopping trees for firewood. And they have to.
A
dilemma. And it prompted the local government to act. In Shaanxi
alone, farmers are encouraged to raise sheep in a barn-fed manner,
different from traditional pasture herding. The government has also
allocated nearly US$220 million worth of compensation for the loss
of farmers' food grains.
As
a result, farmers found their incomes rise, despite a decline in
farmland. Many counties have lifted out of extreme poverty. Shaanxi
Party Congress Delegate Zhang Houhua tells how.
"We set up businesses in our spare time, and we make more money
than only farming. For example, the sheep we raise can bring twice
the income than before thanks to the ever increasing market demand.
When the environment is getting better, more tourists are coming.
And we even feel healthier in the beautiful and clean
environment."
According to Zhang Houhua, in some areas in Shaanxi, farmers have
dropped the use of firewood and turn to liquefied gas as fuels.
Some even started to use environmentally-friendly marsh gas as an
alternative.
"Tibetan Boy" Growing Up
When asked about the whereabouts of the boy that was nominated by
the Dalai Lama as 11th Panchen Erdeni in 1995, Raidi,
deputy-secretary of the Communist Party of China in Tibet, said,
"He is as fine as other boys in Tibet."
"I
can tell you that just a few days before I came to Beijing, I sent
people to see the boy's family. The boy now is 1.6 meters high, and
65 kilograms in weight. He studies well, and his parents are happy
(with him)," he said.
Raidi said the Dalai Lama's choice of the boy as 11th Panchen
Erdeni violated Buddhist rituals and historic precedence, and is
"illegal and invalid."
At
the conference, Raidi said the past 13 years had witnessed the most
rapid development in Tibet's history. Government support has
enabled Tibet's GDP to grow annually by more than 11 percent during
the period.
The past 13 years represent Tibet's best period in terms of
economic development since its peaceful liberation in the early
1950s, according to data available to the press at the Media Center
of the ongoing 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of
China.
Figures show the region's gross domestic product (GDP) increased
from 2.77 billion yuan (US$333.7 million) in 1990 to 13.87 billion
yuan (US$1.67 billion) in 2001. Grain production rose from 610,000
tons in 1990 to 982,500 tons in 2001.
At
the end of the last century, the number of Tibetans living below
the poverty line had decreased to about 42,800, from 480,000 in
1990.
Since 1994, more than 30 billion yuan (US$3.6 billion) has been
spent in capital construction in Tibet, which is 2.6 times capital
spending in the previous 43 years.
In
2001, Tibet received 686,000 tourists, up 28.6 times over 1990.
Tibet sees social stability, economic growth, ethnic unity and a
happy life for its people, the data say. It is expected to enter a
modernized society together with other parts of the country in 2049
when New China is 100 years old.
(People's Daily November 13, 2002)