China is expected to invest 1.6 billion yuan (about US$197 million) in the coming five years to help the development of small ethnic groups, said a Chinese official on Tuesday.

"The money will be jointly allocated by two central departments to help upgrade the infrastructure of the villages where they live or improve their living and production conditions," said Ge Zhongxing, director general of the Economic Development Department of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission at a press conference.

Among China's 55 ethnic groups, 22, which are scattered in 238 townships and 640 administrative villages, have populations of less than 100,000, with their combined population reaching about 630,000.

The habitats of 16 ethnic groups are along China's national borders, mostly neighboring foreign people of the same ethnic group.

According to statistics from the commission, among the 640 administrative villages, 56 percent have no potable water, 54 percent no clinics, 39 percent no primary schools and 42 percent no telephone or post services.

Ge said the State Council Leading Group Office for Poverty Alleviation and Development has included all the 345 poor villages of small ethnic groups into a plan designed to promote "whole village progress" and will give them priority in implementation.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said earlier that the Chinese government will speed up poverty elimination in poverty-stricken areas inhabited by the 22 ethnic minorities with smaller populations and try to achieve the goal of poverty reduction there ahead of other regions.

China's efforts also include training and education for members of the small ethnic groups.

Besides adding scores for ethnic college candidates, said Ge, China also launched college preparatory education programs.

Due to historical and natural limitations, small ethnic groups are still backward in terms of general level of economic and social development, he said.

Backward infrastructure and poor production and living conditions, low levels of productivity, conspicuous poverty and tardy social undertakings are the major problems, said Ge.

According Yang Jianqiang, vice director of the commission, China's goal is to, in five years, improve greatly the local infrastructure of the administrative villages inhabited by small ethnic groups, solve problems in people's productivity and basically provide them with adequate food and clothing.

"The economic and social development of these areas should be promoted at the local medium level or higher," said Yang. "And by making efforts over another period of time, we will enable the small ethnic groups to meet the requirements of building a well-off society in China."

"We are confident we will achieve that goal in around five years," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency September 7, 2005)