China's vast west region is likely to get huge sums of overseas funding for development, which has huge potential considering the area's rich resources, cheap labor and untapped markets, a senior foreign trade official said at a forum on China's west development which opened over the weekend.
Liu Zuozhang, of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, said some major cities in the west have improved their environment for overseas investment in terms of communications, infrastructure, education and industries.
He said the Chinese government encourages overseas investors to channel money to the west in the fields of agriculture, water resources, communications, energy, environmental protection, mining and tourism.
The west has 71 percent of China's territory and 66 percent of nation's mineral reserve. The Chinese government is considering loosening control on overseas capital hoping to invest in land and mineral development, according to the official.
Statistics show that the west turns out only 17.8 percent of the country's GDP (gross domestic product). There are now 367,500 overseas-funded enterprises in the west, employing 20 million people.
(Xinhua 04/10/2001)
