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Yunnan aims high in crisis
By Li Yingqing and Ma Chenguang (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-10 07:48
KUNMING: The southwestern province of Yunnan is aiming to reap economic growth of 9 percent this year by improving the quality of life of its locals, strengthening environmental protection and promoting investment in the region, Governor Qin Guangrong said on the weekend. In his weekly report to the provincial legislature on Saturday, the governor said the province will strive to "improve infrastructure in border areas", with poverty alleviation being the top priority this year.
"We will do our best to improve education and healthcare facilities as well as the living and working conditions for the residents of the region," Qin said. "The aim is to give 9,500 villages a facelift, shift 30,000 rural dwellers to areas that are livable, and design seismic safety houses for 200,000 villagers," he added. The province will pump 10.8 billion yuan ($1.6 billion) in infrastructural projects, social security, environmental protection and industrial nurturing within the next three years, Qin said. Last year, the province helped lift about 600,000 local residents out of poverty, he said. Chen Qiusheng, director of Yunnan provincial department of finance, said 4.13 billion yuan had been allocated to improve people's livelihood this year, which accounted for about 66 percent of the estimated expenditure for the province in 2009. Yunnan, which borders Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos, still has some 2.2 million rural dwellers living in absolute poverty, 740,000 urban residents living on minimum allowance and 200,000 elderly villagers dependant on "five guarantees", Vice-Governor Cao Jianfang said. Qin said Yunnan will particularly improve its planning and construction of cross-border economic cooperation zones with the three countries. Yunnan, known for its rich scenery and biological resources, is aiming to be recognized as the province with the "best protected eco-environment", Qin said in his report. "The province will intensify its efforts on treating pollution in nine major plateau lakes - Dianchi, Erhai, Fuxian, Xingyun, Qilu, Yangzong, Yilong, Lugu and Chenghai," he said "The main focus of strengthening ecological construction with be on the northwestern part of the province," he said, adding that about 7 billion yuan will be invested during the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-10) for the purpose. Being a bridge between China and Southeast and South Asia, Yunnan attracted an investment of 77.3 billion yuan from foreign countries in 2008, Qin said. While continuing its research to construct the third Euro-Asia Continental Bridge, proposed to start in Shenzhen and end all the way in Rotterdam, Qin said the province will try to maintain its increase in foreign export with a growth rate of 9 percent in 2009 by strengthening its cooperation with Southeast Asian countries and making customs clearance more convenient. |
