More Preferential Policies for Developing Biological Resources in YunnanChina will adopt a series of preferential policies for luring both domestic and foreign funds to speed up the development of biological resources in Yunnan Province, southwest China.Li Jiating, governor of Yunnan, disclosed that the General Office of the State Council, the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation and the Ministry of Agriculture have agreed, in principle, that Yunnan will establish a flower export processing zone. This will be the first special zone in China's agricultural sector. Yunnan now accounts for 50 percent of China's total flower output, and 40 percent of the domestic flower market. Li, who addressed the closing ceremony of the Yunnan Provincial Working Meeting on Developing Biological Resources on Wednesday, said that the General Administration of Customs, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture have agreed to grant his province the right to approve the import of flower seeds and saplings, and will exempt the province from added-value tax on imports. The governor said that starting this year, Yunnan will earmark 100 million yuan for developing biological resources annually, compared with the 30 million yuan in the past. Yunnan also plans to set up a high-tech Venture Investment Company, to attract enterprises and financial institutions to participate in the development of local biological resources. It will also establish a wild plant resource base to promote the development of local biological resources. In the next 15 years, the governor said, Yunnan will focus on the development of 10 industries including modern medicine, organic and health foods, flower and the afforestation industry, the cane sugar industry, and bio-chemicals. Yunnan Province, known as "kingdom of biological resources" and a "treasure house of biological genes", boasts 60 percent of China 's total biological resources. At present, 67 of the 149 natural science research institutes in the province are engaged in the research and development of biological resources. |
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