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What will multi-billion US dollar investment package bring to W. China?
15:58, July 13, 2010
The Communist Party of China (CPC) Committee and the State Council on July 10 released a package of 23 projects with a total planned investment of 682.2 billion yuan (or 100.62 billion US dollars), four times more than the previous investment announced a decade ago.
Due to the Western Strategy, the combined gross domes domestic product (GDP) of China's western region reached 6.69 trillion yuan in 2009, four time more than 1.67 trillion yuan in 2000.
The new package is designed to beef up efforts for intensify the economic development of central and western China. Then, what such an immense investment will bring to the social and economic development in the mid-western region and the rest of the nation?
First of all, it will greatly improve western China's infrastructure construction like transport, communication, etc., so as to provide guarantees for the mid-western development strategies. According to the State Development and Planning Commission (SPDC), China will invest more than 100 billion dollars in 23 new infrastructure projects in the impoverished Western region as part of its efforts to boost domestic demand. The 68.2 billion yuan will be used to build railways, roads, airports, coal mines and water conservancy projects. Over the years, the government and private investment has helped turn China's coastal region into the developed areas to varying extent.
With regard to 10 transport and communication projects, construction will focus on a 3,500-mile trans-Asian Railway Network that will link Southeast Asia and China with Northeast Asia, Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. The plan has been listed in China National Plan for Railway Construction, 2003-2020. The burgeoning railway project to build in years ahead will facilitate accesses to western China from the eastern China region and to the communication between China and other Asian countries, so as to lay a solid foundation for the economic take-off of western China.
Besides, it will further strengthen the construction of water infrastructure and improve the basic production and living conditions of people in the region. Among the 23 infrastructure projects, there are four water conservancy items to start in Guangzhou province and Tibet in southwestern China, Inner Mongolia in north China and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the northwest. These water conservancy projects will contribute immensely to flood control, the improvement of urban water supply works and ecology, and tourism development. And the large-scale development of water projects will be able to tackle hydro-engineering problems in southwest China and water source shortages in northwest China and tremendously improve living conditions in the Western region.
Thirdly, the development of basic energy sources will be intensified and the traditional sources of renewable energy will be explored and developed along with new green energy resources. Among the 23 infrastructure items, there were only two coalfield development projects to commence respectively in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang autonomous regions in north and northwest China, and this is perhaps just the beginning.
When formulating and implementing substantial coal reserve advantages in western China, the Chinese government will strive to conserve energy and change the pattern of selling cheap energy resources like coal in the western region, and this is indeed regarded as a tremendous support to new economic development in coal producing areas. Electric power projects include not only those involving nuclear energy but also a growing number of power networks that will be coming online, such as power grid projects for use in the fields of construction engineering or agriculture.
Fourth, in addition to varied investment projects, the Chinese government will, among others, work for an all-round development of society, so as to improve the livelihood of local people, to promote the rate equalization of utilities, to raise special funds to be earmarked for the western region and to gradually establish and improve the eco-compensation mechanism. These measures would in turn help reduce the region's gap with the eastern coastal region and promote the economic take-off, ethnic unity and social harmony in the mid-western region. So, the region will rank high among all Chinese economic regions in term of comprehensive economic strength, the quality of locals' livelihoods, bio-environment protection and comprehensive utilization of resources.
Finally, to view from an overall impact of economy at the national levels, the 682.2 billion yuan of investment would help spur the multi-polar domestic growth and transform the nation's growth mode; it would also create a huge market space for China's economic and social development and a long-term strategic layout for maneuvering. Furthermore, the large-scale, accelerated investment will give scope to the regional role in expanding the growth of domestic demand, adjusting and optimizing the industrial structure, and promoting the steady growth and opening-up, so as to further build up the confidence in the sustainable growth of Chinese economy both at home and overseas.
By People's Daily Online and contributed by Shi Jianxun, an especially PD-invited guest commentator and a professor of Economics and Management with elite Tongji University in Shanghai
15:58, July 13, 2010
The Communist Party of China (CPC) Committee and the State Council on July 10 released a package of 23 projects with a total planned investment of 682.2 billion yuan (or 100.62 billion US dollars), four times more than the previous investment announced a decade ago.
Due to the Western Strategy, the combined gross domes domestic product (GDP) of China's western region reached 6.69 trillion yuan in 2009, four time more than 1.67 trillion yuan in 2000.
The new package is designed to beef up efforts for intensify the economic development of central and western China. Then, what such an immense investment will bring to the social and economic development in the mid-western region and the rest of the nation?
First of all, it will greatly improve western China's infrastructure construction like transport, communication, etc., so as to provide guarantees for the mid-western development strategies. According to the State Development and Planning Commission (SPDC), China will invest more than 100 billion dollars in 23 new infrastructure projects in the impoverished Western region as part of its efforts to boost domestic demand. The 68.2 billion yuan will be used to build railways, roads, airports, coal mines and water conservancy projects. Over the years, the government and private investment has helped turn China's coastal region into the developed areas to varying extent.
With regard to 10 transport and communication projects, construction will focus on a 3,500-mile trans-Asian Railway Network that will link Southeast Asia and China with Northeast Asia, Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. The plan has been listed in China National Plan for Railway Construction, 2003-2020. The burgeoning railway project to build in years ahead will facilitate accesses to western China from the eastern China region and to the communication between China and other Asian countries, so as to lay a solid foundation for the economic take-off of western China.
Besides, it will further strengthen the construction of water infrastructure and improve the basic production and living conditions of people in the region. Among the 23 infrastructure projects, there are four water conservancy items to start in Guangzhou province and Tibet in southwestern China, Inner Mongolia in north China and the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in the northwest. These water conservancy projects will contribute immensely to flood control, the improvement of urban water supply works and ecology, and tourism development. And the large-scale development of water projects will be able to tackle hydro-engineering problems in southwest China and water source shortages in northwest China and tremendously improve living conditions in the Western region.
Thirdly, the development of basic energy sources will be intensified and the traditional sources of renewable energy will be explored and developed along with new green energy resources. Among the 23 infrastructure items, there were only two coalfield development projects to commence respectively in Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang autonomous regions in north and northwest China, and this is perhaps just the beginning.
When formulating and implementing substantial coal reserve advantages in western China, the Chinese government will strive to conserve energy and change the pattern of selling cheap energy resources like coal in the western region, and this is indeed regarded as a tremendous support to new economic development in coal producing areas. Electric power projects include not only those involving nuclear energy but also a growing number of power networks that will be coming online, such as power grid projects for use in the fields of construction engineering or agriculture.
Fourth, in addition to varied investment projects, the Chinese government will, among others, work for an all-round development of society, so as to improve the livelihood of local people, to promote the rate equalization of utilities, to raise special funds to be earmarked for the western region and to gradually establish and improve the eco-compensation mechanism. These measures would in turn help reduce the region's gap with the eastern coastal region and promote the economic take-off, ethnic unity and social harmony in the mid-western region. So, the region will rank high among all Chinese economic regions in term of comprehensive economic strength, the quality of locals' livelihoods, bio-environment protection and comprehensive utilization of resources.
Finally, to view from an overall impact of economy at the national levels, the 682.2 billion yuan of investment would help spur the multi-polar domestic growth and transform the nation's growth mode; it would also create a huge market space for China's economic and social development and a long-term strategic layout for maneuvering. Furthermore, the large-scale, accelerated investment will give scope to the regional role in expanding the growth of domestic demand, adjusting and optimizing the industrial structure, and promoting the steady growth and opening-up, so as to further build up the confidence in the sustainable growth of Chinese economy both at home and overseas.
By People's Daily Online and contributed by Shi Jianxun, an especially PD-invited guest commentator and a professor of Economics and Management with elite Tongji University in Shanghai
