Meeting Stresses Western Progress
 

Development of China's western region was a hot topic during the 11th Session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), which ended yesterday in Beijing.

Some members suggested western development be given more attention during the 10th Five-Year Plan (2001-05).

Yang Zhenjie, chairman of the People's Political Consultative Conference in Northwest China's Gansu Province, said due to social, historical and geographic factors, raising people's living standard in the vast west remains a difficult and crucial task, especially in regions where minority groups live in compact communities.

Other members pointed out that the west is in a position to learn from the mistakes the east has made during its recent development.
An Zhendong, a member from the Jiu San Society, said new building materials should be put into use.

Many construction projects in the relatively prosperous east still use older building materials, such as brick and tile. The making which causes serious pollution and reduces the area of arable land.

Cultural development in the western regions was also a subject of discussion.

Gao Zhanxiang, a member from the Association of the Literature and Arts Circles of China, suggested greater attention be paid to development of the cultural industry.

The culture industry, which is a pillar of the economy in many developed countries, is very weak in China.

The economic returns and social effects of cultural products need to be balanced and integrated on the premise of guaranteeing the latter, and this will reap huge profits, Gao said.

The members also spent a fair amount of time discussing the draft blueprint for the 10th Five-Year Plan, which was mapped out by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China at the Fifth Plenum of the 15th Central Committee of the CPC last week.



(China Daily 10/19/2000)



 
   
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