Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Coping with the Global Financial Crisis and Maintaining Steady and Properly Rapid Economic Development in the Western Area of China (2)
Source: MOFCOM View: 541 Date: 2011-05-16

Industry shall be optimized and upgraded. We shall execute and diligently carry out the national major industry adjustment and rejuvenation plan. Efforts shall be made to proactively develop technical-based leading industries, expand the scale and increase the level of industries including aviation and space flight, modern equipment manufacturing, electronics and information, science and technologies for national defense, new energy and new materials, and promote the construction of hi-tech industrial bases including Shaanxi Yanliang civil aviation base, Gansu Jinchang new materials base, Sichuan Chengdu biological base and Deyang major equipment manufacturing base. We shall optimize and develop resource-utilized industries, accelerate intensive development of energy and chemical industry and mineral resources processing industry, and improve the level of comprehensive utilization of resources. The 10mn-ton oil-refining project and 1mn-ton ethylene project of China National Petroleum Company in Xinjiang Duzishan shall be finished. The construction of major petroleum and natural gas projects in Changqing and Sebei shall be quickened. The base for development, comprehensive utilization and transmission of oil and natural gas in Erdos, Talimu, Zhunger, Chaidamu and Sichuan basins shall be gradually constructed. Enterprises shall spend more efforts in technical transformation to improve their technical levels and competitiveness of their products.

The self-independent innovation abilities shall be improved. National scientific and technical infrastructure shall be built in the western area and some major labs and engineering and technical research center at national level shall be established there. We shall support research institutions and enterprises to take national major scientific and technological programs and achieve breakthroughs on some key issues that commonly exist in the western area. More policy supports shall be given to the hi-tech zones in the western area and the development of small and medium-scale technical enterprises shall be supported. We shall give full play to the scientific and technical advantages of national defense industry, encourage military-civilian combination and support the development of Mianyang Science and Technology City.

More progress shall be made in the modern service industry. More efforts shall be made on travel infrastructure construction, infrastructure in scenic spots shall be improved, tourism focusing on nature and folk customs shall be developed, and certain number of typical travel routes shall be developed. We shall continue to promote the programs including “upgrading and restructuring of agricultural products wholesale markets”, “establishment of markets in rural areas”, “100 markets” program and commercial information service in rural areas. The e-commerce service shall be developed. More efforts shall be made on the development of modern service sectors regarding culture, exhibition and innovation, and the development of outsourcing service shall be quickened. We shall make more endeavors to integrate regional financial resources, considerably improve corporate governance of local corporate bank institutions, and encourage shareholding commercial banks and foreign-invested banks to set up branches in the western area. Efforts shall be made to improve the financing guarantee system for medium and small-sized enterprises, promote the development of new rural financial institutions such as village banks and town banks, and expand the coverage of small-amount loans to farmers in the western area.

Efforts shall be made on orderly industrial transfer. We shall exert the advantages of the eastern area in capital, technology, human resources and management and of the western area in resources, market and labor resources to guide gradual transfer of industries in the eastern area to the western area. We shall, according to traffic advantages, select a batch of cities with certain basis as pilots to take industries transferred from the eastern area, and promote the construction of industrial transfer demonstration zones and eastern-western interactive industrial cooperation demonstration zones. Governments and departments shall make strict supervision of industrial transfer in respect of conformance of industrial policies, environmental protection and intensive utilization of resources so as to prevent transfer of backward production capacities to the western area. Specific policies for taking of transferred industries by central and western areas shall be formulated. We shall give priority to major industrial projects that have been examined and approved by the country to be arranged in the western area.

4. Strengthen livelihood programs to promote social harmony

The construction of affordable housing project shall be quickened. We shall expedite the construction of low-rent housings in urban area and heighten efforts on reconstruction of squatter settlements in state-owned forest regions, reclamation areas and mining areas and urban area as well as local mining areas which were originally owned by the state. More pilots for herdsmen settlement program and reconstruction of dilapidated houses in rural areas shall be set up and reconstruction of huts and dilapidated houses along national borders shall be quickened. Efforts shall be made to build temporarily residential houses for teachers and medical staff in rural areas in remote areas.

The conditions for production and living in rural areas shall be ameliorated. Investment in rural infrastructure shall be increased and the funds for pubic welfare projects at county level or below shall be gradually cancelled. We shall make endeavors to basically solve the issue of provision of safe drinking water to people living in rural areas within 2-3 years. By 2010, every town may have asphalt (cement) pavements and every incorporated village may be accessible. The development of small hydropower for fuel and marsh gas in rural areas shall be speeded up. We shall perfect the market system for agricultural products, support construction of circulation infrastructure including wholesale markets and free markets for bulk agricultural and sideline products, and promote chain operation in rural areas. The system of policy-supported subsidies to passenger traffic in rural areas shall be established.

More efforts shall be made on development-oriented poverty relief program. The fund for poverty relief shall be increased and the measures for supporting people with low incomes shall be carried out. The poverty relief works shall be promoted in village as a whole and the level of reducing poverty through agricultural industrialization shall be improved. We shall prudently advance the works on poverty relief through migration and improve the self-development abilities of poverty-stricken people in rural areas. We shall give priority to development-oriented poverty relief in old revolutionary base areas, areas of minority inhabitants and border areas and more efforts shall be made to poverty-stricken areas of special types. The measures for effectively linking the rural-area minimum subsistence guarantee system with the policies for development-oriented poverty relief shall be formulated.

The works on entrepreneurship and employment of farmers shall be well done. Based on experience from pilots of Nanchong and Ganzi of Sichuan and Gannan of Gansu, we shall select some counties (cities) with mature conditions to expand the coverage of the farmer entrepreneurship promotion program. Efforts shall be made to provide better services on employment and skill training of surplus labor force transferred from rural areas, and to continue to carry out the rural labor force employment plan, the Sunshine Program for training of transferred rural labor force, Spark Scientific and Technical Training Program and Yulu Training Program. We shall guide those farmers to find job outside in an orderly way, encourage them to work near their hometown and support rural immigrant workers to return to their hometown to run their businesses to improve non-agricultural incomes.

5. Speed up the development of social undertakings and improve services to the pubic

We shall give priority to education development. The 9-year compulsory education shall be further promoted, and the program of basically popularizing the 9-year compulsory education and the program of basically eliminating illiteracy among young and middle-aged people in the rest 42 counties in the western area shall be finished as soon as possible. We shall make efforts to solve the issues concerning debts arising out of the 9-year compulsory education program in rural areas within 3 years. Supports shall be given to bilingual education in areas with minority inhabitants. We shall continue the project of reconstruction of buildings of secondary schools and consolidation of buildings of primary and secondary schools in rural areas and put more efforts on reconstruction of dilapidated buildings and building of boarding schools in rural areas. Endeavors shall be made to quicken the development of secondary vocational education in rural areas, improve school conditions and teaching abilities, and gradually provide secondary vocational education for free. We shall basically achieve our objectives that every city at the prefecture level and every county with population over 300,000 shall set up a special education school. More supports shall be given to development of higher education, and the admission rate for those taking the college entrance exams in areas where lack human resources with high education shall be gradually increased.

The basic medical care services shall be improved. We shall proactively promote the reform of health system, improve regional health plans, enhance efforts on establishment of the pubic health service system and give more supports to the western area in respect of special health funds for improving facilities of hospitals at county level. More efforts shall be made to develop traditional Chinese medical science, Chinese traditional medicine and medical sciences of minorities. We shall consolidate and develop the new rural cooperative medical service system, expand its coverage and give more benefits to participating farmers. More efforts shall be made on prevention and control of serious diseases and endemic diseases and on handling of emergent pubic health events. The establishment of the service systems for healthcare of women and children and family planning program shall be quickened, the low fertility rate shall be kept and the coverage of the “Fewer Children and Faster Prosperity Program” shall be expanded.

The public cultural service system shall be improved. Projects and programs including broadcasting and television service reaching every village, integrated cultural stations in counties and towns, “Tibet-Xinjiang program” Stage IV, national cultural information sharing, mobile stage vehicles, film projection in rural areas shall be promoted, and the construction grade for cultural centers and libraries at county level shall be raised. We shall well protect natural heritages, intangible cultural heritages and large relics in the western area. More efforts shall be made to construction of major cultural relic protection projects and to protection of savable cultural relics and famous cities and counties with long history and cultural significance. The program of physical fitness of farmers shall continue to be executed.

The employment rate shall be increased and social security level shall be improved. Efforts shall be made to execute policies for promoting employment of college graduates, immigrant workers from rural areas and people in difficulties of employment, and increase employment rate. We shall expand the coverage of social security, improve the basic aged care service system, launch the new rural endowment insurance pilots program, and establish the social security system for farmers whose farmlands have been expropriated, whereby insurance may be handled before expropriation of land. The standards of subsidies for people subject to special care and of urban minimum subsistence allowances and subsidies shall be improved.

More efforts shall be made on human resource issues. The policies and measures regarding human resources in the western area shall be improved and the system of attracting, retaining and using human resources shall be set up. We shall take varies means to cultivate practical persons for rural area, as well as professionals and talents with better education in urgent need for western development, encourage and support raising funds for human resources in the western area through different channels and at different levels, and introduce talents from other areas of China and other countries to the western area. We shall increase the appropriation of the Central Government to reward teachers and medical staff who work at the community level for a long time and give subsidies to teachers and medical staff who work in remote poverty-stricken areas according to national policies. We will improve the official exchange system, guide human resources to flow to the western area and encourage volunteers to make services at the community or village level.

6. Make uniform planning on regional development and take initiatives to cultivate new economic growth poles

Major economic zones shall be given the priority to development. We shall energetically promote major economic zones such as Chengdu-Chongqing, Guanzhong-Tianshui and Beibu Gulf of Guangxi to become strategic sites to lead and drive the western development. Efforts shall be made to speed up the comprehensive urban-rural support reform in Chongqing and Chengdu, promote Guanzhong-Tianshui Economic Zone to firstly set up innovation areas, and support Xi’an to establish scientific and technological resources comprehensive reform demonstration bases. We shall promote the development and opening up of Beibu Gulf of Guangxi and accelerate establishment of national hi-tech industrial belt. The construction of bonded ports in Qinzhou of Guangxi and in Lianglu and Cuntan of Chongqing shall be promoted. We shall study the feasibility of establishment of Xi’an dry port comprehensive bonded area. The formulation of development plans for major areas including Chengdu-Chongqing economic zone, Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia old revolutionary area, Huhehaote-Baotou-Erdos economic zone in Inner Mongolia and North Side of Tianshan Mountain in Xinjiang shall be made. We shall energetically promote cross-regional integrated city construction, speed up urban-rural integration of Chengdu and Chongqing and city integration of Xi’an and Xianyang and Urumqi and Changji, and guide reasonable cross-regional flow of factors of all kinds.

We shall guide sustained development of areas with abundant resources. Efforts shall be made to conduct pilots of cities practicing recycling economy in areas with abundant resources including Chaidamu of Qinghai, Erdos of Inner Mongolia, Panzhihua of Sichuan, Zhunger of Xinjiang and Liupanshui of Guizhou, and promote orderly development of resources. More endeavors shall be made on exploration of mineral resources to find major alternative areas with abundant energy and mineral resources. The transformation of resource-exhausted cities such as Baiyin of Gansu, Shizuishan of Ningxia, Gejiu of Yunnan, Tongchuan of Shaanxi and Wansheng of Chongqing shall be quickened. Efforts shall be made to work out guidance opinions on sustained development of areas with abundant resources.

The development of areas with minority inhabitants and old revolutionary base areas shall be quickened. We shall diligently carry out policies and measures of the CPC central committee and the State Council for supporting economic and social development of Tibet, Xinjiang, Ningxia and Tibetan-inhabited areas of Qinghai, give more supports to the development of poverty-stricken areas with concentration of minority inhabitants including south of Guizhou, north of Guangxi, east of Yunnan, three prefectures in south of Xinjiang, mountain areas of Wulin, north of Sichuan and south of Gansu, and explore development modes. Supports shall be given to the labor service export matching program between developed areas and areas with minority inhabitants. More supports shall be given to the areas with nationals with small population. We shall support some autonomous counties with concentration of poverty-stricken people to develop their economy. Efforts shall be made to promote the program of booming border areas and formulate plans for development and opening up of border areas. We shall enhance the self-development abilities of old revolutionary base areas, mainly settle outstanding issues regarding traffic, water resource, education and health service, and encourage those areas to take advantage of energy, mineral resources, agriculture and tourism to old revolutionary sites to develop industries with characteristics. The preliminary works on drafting the Plan for Rejuvenating Old Revolutionary Base Areas in Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia shall be started.

We shall promote fast development of major cities at borders. Efforts shall be made to quicken the building of major gateway cities, improve functions of border economic cooperation zones, expand scale of border trades and improve export-oriented processing level. We shall actively promote further opening up of Dongxing of Guangxi, Ruili of Yunnan, Yining of Xinjiang and Manzhouli of Inner Mongolia, enhance efforts on cooperation with neighboring countries and regions on development and utilization of resources and energies, and build major areas at borders for opening up.

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