Shaanxi Set to Develop E-BusinessThe development of e-business in western China will be accelerated in the near future, according to the region's leading officials.Enterprises, including world giants, will play a role in introducing e-business into the west, said Zhao Dequan, vice-governor of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province at the Western China International E-commerce Conference, 2000. The four-day conference, which opened on Tuesday in Xi'an, aims to encourage successful Internet companies, such as Intel and 8848, to take a market share in the western part of China. About 14 provinces and autonomous regions in the west have sent information officials to the conference. The conference has attracted more than 1,000 experts and enterprise presidents from home and aboard to discuss ways to carry out e-business in the relatively backward western regions. "We have a number of local partners in Xi'an and we hope to help these electronic companies participate in global e-business," said Jason Chen, vice-president of Intel Semiconductor Ltd. Beijing Sparkice Electronic Commerce Company signed a tentative contract with the provincial government of Shaanxi to establish an e-business manufacturing network in Shaanxi. "The co-operation is expected to stimulate e-commerce in the province," said Lu Yucheng, a top provincial official overseeing information industry. However, both sides refused to reveal any of the contract's details, saying that it was only tentative. "Sparkice is one of the first to enter a creative co-operation here," said Lu. Besides Shaanxi, other regions in the west have also put e-business at the top of their agendas. The Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, for example, will inject 1.2 billion yuan (US$ 144 million) over the next few years in establishing essential communication networks in the region. "We will establish a wide band transmission network and encourage local companies to start on-line operations in the coming five years," said Su Guoping, leader of the region's Information Leadership Group. Last year, about 35 per cent of Xinjiang's GDP (Gross Domestic Product) came from the electronic industry. "Many universities and research institutes in some western cities will provide a sound intellectual base for the development of e-business," said Andrew MacDougal, managing director of British Telecommunications Plc. (China Daily) |
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