Fight for pilot projects really for resources

AN INCREASING NUMBER of local governments, especially in Northeast China, are applying to pilot national projects. China Youth Daily says the cut-throat competition is about acquiring more public resources and interests that can boost a government's performance instead of a desire to advance reforms.

For the time being, China still has a mountain to climb in promoting nationwide comprehensive reform, which involves a variety of tricky and complicated tasks for governments at all levels. Launching some pilot projects can be a proactive means of advancing reforms, because they are likely to encounter less opposition and have benign demonstrative effects if the pilot projects succeed.

That, to some extent, explains why many local officials are obsessed with such pilot projects, and are competing to get them. However, the main reason is the pilot projects always come with financial support and preferential policies providing a boost to the political performance of any local government selected to trial a reform project.