Crucial Steps for Beefing up Domestic Demand 　　An article headed "The Crucial Steps for Beefing up Domestic Demand" highlights the features of last year's increased investment. The features. it says, are: The total investment has been on the rise. By the end of November, the growth rate was 22.3%. Capital construction investment is estimated at over 1200 billion yuan for the whole year, up about 27% over a year earlier; 2. There is a balanced regional structure in investment. And the growth rate of the western part of China has been always higher than in other parts of the country. In the January-November period, investment for the western part totaled 237.7 billion yuan, showing a 38.1% year-on-year growth; 3. There was a drastic change in the investment structure - a palpable increase in investment for infrastructure and housing. In January-November, investment in farming, forestry, animal husbandry, fishery and water conservancy and irrigation registered a 45.8% hike; transportation, post and telecom 58%; and housing 29.2%. 　　According to an experts' rough estimation, some 60% of the 200 billion yuan in investment would contribute 1.5 percentage points to the national economy growth. The increase in infrastructural investment would become the most important factor for economic growth for 1998 in the absence of the hot spots of consumption and because of the drastic slump in export. And it also has played a decisive role in fulfilling the economic target for l998. 　　The article points out that infrastructural investment will focus on post-flood reconstruction, river and lake harnessing and water conservancy and irrigation. It says that the government will pump hefty investment in harnessing big rivers and lakes in l999 and reinforce the trunk levees of the lower and middle reaches of the Yangtze, the Yellow River and other big rivers. The ecological construction of the Yangtze and the Yellow River will also be emphasized and the logging of the natural forests will be halted, it notes. 　　Concluding, it stresses that management of the infrastructural construction projects and ensuring the quality of the projects is the most imminent task for the county. 　　 Indepth 1999-01-09 Page1