GDP growth target attainable

The projected 7 percent growth of gross domestic product for 2003 is attainable, said Wang Chunzheng.

Wang told the press conference China's national economy has been operating quite well in the first two months of this year, with industrial production, foreign trade, social development and many other aspects maintaining good development momentum. "The targeted growth rate is attainable," he said.

He acknowledged, however, that there are some uncertainties in the recovering of international economy and some difficulties and problems in China's economic development, including insufficient demand and employment pressure.

More investment in less-developed western areas

China will increase its input in the less-developed western areas and adopt more measures to promote the development of these areas, said the Vice Minister of the State Development Planning Commission.

Wang said that over the past three years since the strategy of developing the west was launched, the targeted areas have had great changes in their infrastructure construction, biological environment and other aspects.

Last year economy grew 9.9 percent in the western regions, faster than the national average of 8 percent, the official said.

Four steps to narrow rural-urban gap

China will reinforce its efforts in four aspects to narrow the gap between rural and urban areas.

Wang Chunzheng told the press conference that the disparity of development between rural and urban areas is a critical issue that China has to face in its economic and social development, adding that solving the issue will have to go through a fairly arduous procedure.

This year the government will make efforts in four aspects to narrow the gap:

-- Restructuring agricultural products in accordance with market demand;

-- Carrying out taxing and fee charging reforms in the whole country to alleviate farmers' financial burden;

-- Investing more in rural infrastructure construction to improve farmers' production and living conditions; and

Continuing to push forward the drive of urbanization to create conditions for surplus rural labor force to find jobs in towns and cities.

WTO membership helps China's foreign trade increase

China's WTO membership created a good international environment for its export and import in 2002, which scored a growth of 21.8 percent, according to Wang.

Positive factors behind the fast foreign trade growth also include the gradual recovering of international economy, the development of diversified destination markets and product quality, and the sharply increased export and import of private and foreign-funded enterprises, the official added.

He said that this year's projected growth of foreign trade is set at 7 percent, lower than last year, considering the fierce competition in the international market and the increasingly serious trade protectionism.

China to learn from Western countries in "go-west" campaign

China will draw on experience of foreign countries in formulating policies for large-scale development of its western regions, said Li Zibin, deputy director of the Office of the Leading Group under the State Council for the Development of the Western Regions.

"We will take the practices of the United States, Canada, Japan and Italy as a reference when drafting the overall western development program, said Li.

"We'll draw on their successful experience to formulate policies geared to the actual conditions of the circumstances in China's western regions and the overall situation of China," said Li.

China has stated it would balance ecological environment with economic growth in the western development drive.

More than 500 billion yuan (US$60.24 billion) will be invested in four areas to improve the ecological environment in the western regions, including protection of natural forests, returning farmland to forests, desertification control and closing pastures for the renewal of grassland.

Energy production is high on the agenda of the western development. Construction of two landmark projects, the west-to-east electricity transmission project and the west-to-east natural gas pipeline, have already begun.

It is also learnt at the press conference that in the development of the western regions, domestic private investors are given the same access as foreign investors.

(People's Daily March 8, 2003)