West China regions have reported an annual average economic growth rate of 10.7 percent for six straight years up to last year, owing to a national strategy to develop the area. 

Their combined gross domestic product (GDP) reached 3.33 trillion yuan (US$416.25 billion) last year, compared with 1.66 trillion yuan in 2000, when the central government launched the strategy to help the relatively backward west catch up with the more prosperous east.

Moreover, the economic growth gap between the two regions fell to 0.4 of a percentage point last year from 1.9 percentage points six years ago, said Wang Jinxiang, deputy head of the Leading Group Office under the State Council for the Development of the Western Regions.

Fixed assets investment grew by 23 percent annually and local revenue by an average of 15.5 percent.

The development plan involves 12 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, covering seven million square kilometers and a population of about 370 million.

These regions lag far behind the more prosperous east due to harsh natural conditions, inadequate transport links and geography among other reasons.

By the end of last year, the government had invested one trillion yuan (US$125 billion) to develop transport, water conservancy facilities, energy resources and telecommunications services in the western regions, Wang said.

It also launched several projects to restore and improve the environment, with the reforestation of 5.65 million hectares of farmland, 7.71 million hectares of barren hills and wasteland. Ecological deterioration was curbed with grazing banned on 19.33 million hectares of grassland.

Owing to the successful implementation of the plan, 89.5 percent of villages are now linked by highway, 99 percent of townships have power supplies and more than 36 million rural people have access to clean drinking water. The government also relocated 1.22 million people in abject poverty to places with better natural conditions.

Furthermore, with an improving investment environment, the western regions have been able to attract more investors from home and abroad, said Wang.

More than 30,000 enterprises from east China invested a total of 600 billion yuan in the west, which saw foreign trade total US$164.3 billion from 2000 to 2005, with foreign funds utilization peaking at US$11.2 billion.

(Xinhua News Agency August 31, 2006)