China's Western Development: A Huge Business OpportunityChina's western development strategy is a huge business opportunity, said Chen Jinhua, chairman of the China Enterprise Confederation, in Beijing on April 17.Speaking at the on-going China Business Summit 2000, Chen said business contacts involving 100 billion yuan (about 12.9 billion US dollars) had been signed during a recent east-west trade fair, which shows the irresistible attraction of China's western region. The State Development Planning Commission will announce a detailed plan for China's western development before the end of this year. China is concentrating on infrastructure construction, ecological environment improvement, economic restructuring, science and education development, and further opening up. This year's ten large construction projects in the western region, which involve railways, highways, urban elevated railways, airports, water conservancy, and natural gas pipelines, will provide great opportunities for investors worldwide. Chen pointed out that China's strategy will help expand domestic demand and guarantee steady growth of the economy. The strategy will also be very helpful for promoting social stability and the harmonious development of all provinces. He said that low labor and land costs in western China are very attractive, and foreign investors are welcome. China's western region cover 56 percent of the country's land area and has 23 percent of China's population. But its per-capita gross domestic product is only 60 percent of the national average. |
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