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Science-based Programmes Mapped out for West Development
The Ministry of Science and Technology has designed eight science-based programmes to help accelerate development of China's west.
The programmes are:
L Experiments in water-saving agriculture, afforestation and work to stop the growth of deserts
L Administrative and specialized skills for county officials.
L Spread of advanced farming techniques and introduction of high-tech zones and university-based scientific parks.
L Directing science and technology institutions in Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin to support Yunnan and Sichuan provinces and the Xinjiang Uygur and Inner Mongolia autonomous regions.
L Helping western areas select science projects for the 10 Five-Year Plan (2001-05).
L Sustainable development plans such as ecological conservation in the Three Gorges Dam areas and environmentally sound development in the karst peaks areas of southwestern China.
L More theoretical research to give regional decision makers scientific information.
L Co-operation with Europe, for development of agriculture, fisheries and forestry; Sino-Russian agricultural projects in China's dry and semi-dry west; and use of poverty-relief, farm produce processing and water-saving agriculture programmes offered by the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization.
The Ministry of Science and Technology has signed agreements with Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan and Guizhou provinces; Chongqing Municipality and the Xinjiang Uygur, Ningxia Hui, Inner Mongolia, Tibet and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous regions to put these plans in place.
Since the central government launched its western development campaign early this year, the ministry has spent more than 270 million yuan (US$32.5 million) on development in west China, according to the ministry's Development and Planning Department. Department official Xu Jianguo said western administrators are now implementing the projects.
Sichuan Province, for example, will promote high-yield agriculture and industrializing traditional Chinese medicine.
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