Eight key tasks will form the highlight of further development
in West China, according to guidelines on western development
strategy as contained in the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-2010), said Wang
Jinxiang, deputy director of the National Development and Reform
Commission (NDRC) on Tuesday in Beijing. Wang was addressing a
conference on western development held by the National Committee of
the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC).
The plans for further development aim to realize economic
development and a steady increase in living standards, achieve new
breakthroughs in infrastructure and ecological environment
construction, promote the development of key industries, and
enhance public services.
The eight key tasks are:
1. To facilitate the construction of the new socialist countryside by accelerating
modern agricultural development and improving living conditions in
western rural areas.
2. To further infrastructure construction, a total of one
trillion yuan (US$125 billion) has already been spent and more than
70 key infrastructure projects have been launched in the past six
years. NDRC statistics show that China has constructed 226,000
kilometers of highway and over 4,000 kilometers of railway over the
past five years. These efforts will continue through new projects
in transportation, civil aviation, hydropower, and
telecommunications systems. Some of these new projects include a
second west-east gas pipeline and overland oil pipeline.
3. To boost pillar industries such as energy and chemicals,
mining and processing, farming and animal husbandry, heavy
machinery manufacture, high-tech, tourism and culture.
Over the next five years, the Shaanxi provincial government has pledged to
give increased support to industries such as aviation and
aeronautics, precision instrument manufacturing through related
land and taxation policies.
In Xinjiang, which accounts for 30 percent of
China's domestic oil reserves, 34 percent of natural gas reserves,
and 40 percent of coal reserves, the focus will be on developing
these energy industries by establishing coal-electric and
coal-chemical bases, and oil and gas processing projects.
Western China has 60 percent of China's coal reserves, 66
percent of natural gas, 86 percent of hydropower, 52 percent of
iron, 68 percent of manganese, 72.1 percent of chromium, 72 percent
of vanadium, 95 percent of titanium and much of the country's
sylvite as well.
In relation to agriculture, 10 production bases will be
established for cotton, sugar, tobacco, fruit, flower, tea,
potatoes, livestock and forest products, and herbal medicines.
Special tourism programs will be created featuring zones such as
the Silk Road, and the ecological zone on the Qinghai-Tibet
Plateau.
4. To accelerate the development of key sectors. These would
include cross-regional economic zones like the Chengdu-Chongqing economic zone, key cities and their
satellite towns, areas rich in resources, border cities and ports,
and areas inhabited by ethnic minorities.
5. To strengthen ecological and environment protection, and
improve resource conservation efforts in the 17 areas specifically
listed in the 11th Five-Year Plan.
6. To improve and realize the equalization of public services in
western region.
7. To develop talent recruitment by improving salaries,
allowances and subsidies especially in remote, undeveloped and
minority inhabited areas. Further, more training would be
offered.
8. To establish and improve the long-term mechanisms of state
support, regional coordination, enterprise development, resources
development and management, foreign economic exchange and
cooperation, and government services.
The guidelines will be submitted to the State Council for
approval before the end of September. It is the first set of
five-year guidelines on promoting regional development.
(China.org.cn by Li Shen, September 7, 2006)