Go-west Campaign Gets Good StartChina has made a good start in carrying out the western area development strategy, Chinese officials said at the Seminar on the Investment Environment of China's Western Area held Friday.Zhao Ai, deputy director of the Comprehensive Planning Department of the Office of the Leading Group for the Western Region Development under the State Council, said there has been a good start in the development of China's western region since the Chinese Government adopted the go-west campaign at the turn of the new century. The pace for infrastructure construction has sped up, investments in western areas are increasing rapidly and work on protecting and improving the ecological environment has been strengthened. Economic restructuring is making steady progress, he said. Deng Zhan, deputy director of the Foreign Investment Department of the Ministry of Foreign Trade & Economic Co-operation, said that in the first four months of this year, 500 foreign-invested enterprises have been set up in China's western area, representing a 19.33 per cent increase over the same period of last year. Contractual foreign capital reached US$1,294 million, rising by 19.37 per cent over last year, and actual paid-in capital amounted to US$335 million, he said. In the period between 2001 and 2005, the emphasis of the go-west campaign will be to intensify investment in infrastructure and improve the environment. Source: China Daily |
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