"We have developed a detailed program in this regard," said Wang Hongzhong, Chinese Communist Party secretary of Miyun County, located in northern Beijing.

But Wang did not reveal the details of the program.

Wang said the results of the work to protect the reservoir's environment were very evident, with more than 80 percent forest coverage in the areas surrounding it, said Wang.

"We have worked very hard planting trees for the past number of years and the county's total forest coverage stands at 68 percent," Wang revealed in Miyun at a two-day mayors' forum on how to reconstruct cities and develop local economies. The forum was organized by his county and the China Association of Mayors.

The county covers about 2,200 square kilometers, with the Miyun Reservoir taking up 10 percent of the total. It provides drinking water for the capital's approximately 15 million residents.

Wang said his county was undergone a major facelift in the past two years, with about a 21 billion yuan (US$2.53 billion) investment in 604 urban infrastructure construction and other public projects.

At the wrap-up of the forum yesterday, Tao Siliang, vice-president of the China Association of Mayors, said the days when a city government controls all the economic activities in a city are gone and a transparent administrative system that is governed by law and economic forces should be established in cities.

"We have held this seminar because the competitiveness of cities has become a top concern of all city officials since China became a member of World Trade Organization," said Tao.

According to Tao, decision makers from several dozen cities all over the country attended the seminar and exchanged ideas on how to make their cities more competitive.

Tao was satisfied with Miyun's fast urbanization process.

"The county's achievements indicate that governmental departments in a city should take the initiative to adopt international practices in their operation and become market-minded," said Tao.

She said that during the process of urbanization, proper mid- and long-term plans should be made by decision makers in China's cities.

"It is important for cities to work out just what roles they should play in the country as a whole," said Tao.

Tao pointed out that local officials of some regions are engaged in speeding up the process of urbanization with no regard for whether or not such regions are suitable for urbanization.

"Such moves usually lead to a waste of resources," she said, adding that as the country is now concentrating on developing its vast western regions, great importance must be attached to such problems by officials in the west.

(China Daily October 9, 2002)