Poverty may sound remote to Beijing and its close neighbour Tianjin, two of the most prosperous cities in the country.

But in reality, poverty is no stranger to these two cities, it is right on their doorsteps.

According to a report released on Wednesday, a poverty belt exists around Beijing and Tianjin, two cities that are encircled by Hebei Province.

The report, jointly sponsored by the Hebei provincial government and the Asian Development Bank, found that 32 counties in Hebei, bordering Beijing and Tianjin, were impoverished, with about 2.7 million people living below the poverty line.

In other words, the Beijing and Tianjin region is like an island of affluence surrounded by a belt of poverty.

Such findings are indeed shocking.

Regional disparities, such as the wide gap between China's coastal and western regions, are not a new phenomenon in this vast country.

But to see huge disparities in affluence in such close proximity is, to some extent, startling.

According to conventional wisdom, a wealthy city is usually a benefit to its neighbouring areas, providing them with easy access to markets and investment.

For example, the Yangtze Delta centred around Shanghai, and the Pearl River Delta, led by Guangzhou and Shenzhen, have both developed into the country's economic powerhouses.

But this magic does not seem to be working in the Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei area, the report shows.

Beijing and Tianjin still remain the two economic giants in the region, but Hebei is lagging far behind.

The slack development in Hebei Province, especially the slow progress in areas bordering Beijing and Tianjin, is, to some extent, due to the sacrifices made to service these two cities in the past, something that continues to now.

For example, in order to maintain stable energy and water supplies to Beijing and Tianjin, many Hebei counties have had to reduce their electricity and water usage by closing down local enterprises.

In this sense, Beijing and Tianjin should reciprocate with their poor neighbours, by extending a helping hand to help them shake off poverty.

Such a move would be in their own interests as well.

This kind of unbalanced development is not healthy. If not coped with promptly, the retarded growth seen in the neighbouring areas will become a drag on Beijing and Tianjin's own advancement.

For example, the huge wealth disparity is driving many people in the less developed regions to seek better prospects in the rich cities such as Beijing, which in turn feels the pressure of its burgeoning population growth.

In Beijing and Tianjin's case, if their neighbours continue to be mired in poverty, many of the poor from these areas can be expected to swarm to the cities.

A prosperous neighbourhood would not only give its residents less incentive to move but would also provide Beijing and Tianjin with an expanding market on their doorstep as the prosperity of the surrounding areas increases.

And in fact, the same is also true for regional disparity issues in the country as a whole.

The shocking finding of a huge wealth gap between Beijing and Tianjin and their neighbours, it is hoped, should give us extra urgency to pay heed to the problem of regional disparity - a problem that is clearly at odds with the harmonious society we are currently building.

(China Daily 08/20/2005 page4)