At present, the urbanization level in the western region of China is unable to catch up with the demand of development, according to Wang Jinxiang, deputy director of the Office of the Leading Group for Western Region Development of the State Council. He made this statement while in attendance at the 2007 China West Region Urbanization Forum held in Qiannan Prefecture in Guizhou last Saturday.

Since the initiation of China's western development strategy, the total production value of the region has increased from 1.6 trillion yuan to 3.8 trillion yuan, with an annual growth rate of 10.8 percent. As industrialization process speeds up and strategic adjustments are made in the agricultural sector, urbanization also develops faster. The urbanization rate in the western region increased from 28.7 percent in 2000 to 35 percent in 2006. The latest information shows that by the end of 2006, the Chinese urbanization rate had reached 43.9 percent.

Wang, who is also deputy director of the State Development and Reform Commission, said the low rate of urbanization in the western region is apparent in several areas: The number of cities in the region is relatively small and population in these cities is not very large; the ecological environment in the west is poor and water resources are scarce, which means there is no way to fully guarantee the well-being of the people in the region; the urbanization system is still underdeveloped and no large cities have emerged in the region; the development of small and mid-sized cities has just started and can only absorb a small amount of the surplus labor.

To speed up the urbanization process in the west is a strategy compatible with China's national situation and the local situation of the region. People in the western region should work to improve the regional industrialization process and cultivate some regional economic centers. Such economic centers can further promote the economic development throughout the area so that all places in the western region, big or small, can attain common prosperity.

In order to realize this goal, the government should stress the development of big cities first while making sure that all cities in the region can develop in a harmonious way. With rational planning, it is expected that China can promote the urbanization process in the west steadily, Wang Jinxiang said.

(Xinhua News Agency March 27, 2007)