A New Phase, Finally

["Henry C.K. Liu" <hliu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Xinhuanet (PRC)
3/4/04

Development strategy readjustment looming in China

   BEIJING, March 4 (Xinhuanet) -- The Chinese
government is likely to secure a new round of
readjustment in its development strategy after more
than two decades of hectic growth as the country's
lawmakers and political advisors meet at their annual
sessions this week.
   It is expected to shift its growth-centered
strategy to a more scientific and human-based approach
to development as advocated by the Communist Party of
China Central Committee last October, analysts say.
   The new development philosophy, as explained by
Premier Wen Jiabao at a seminar of major leading
cadres of provinces last month, is to give more
attention to social progress while strivingfor a
comprehensive, harmonious and sustainable development.

   "For a long time, there has been a
misunderstanding among government officials," said
noted economist Wu Jinglian. "It seemsthat their sole
task is to boost GDP regardless of the benefit it
brings to local residents and the whole nation. That
is one of theimportant factors that have contributed
to the disparities in economic development between the
eastern and western parts of the country, the growing
urban-rural gaps and the excessive consumption of
resources."
   The shift in the approach to development would
mean a fundamental change in the role of the
government," said Peng Xingye, deputy president of the
Beijing Municipal Party School. "The government will
no longer be an engine of economic growth. It should
leave economic matters to the market and, as an
arbitrator and handler of social issues, should
undertake to provide public goods that beyond the
means of the market."
   Already leading the way is the Changxing County in
Zhejiang Province, which has taken a stunning decision
to scrap GDP growth target from the list of criteria
for judging the performance of local officials.
   "Our small cement and battery plants used to
generate a huge amount of profit," said the county
magistrate Lao Hongwu. "But these plants have
destroyed the local environment. We can not bearto see
the situation continue. Our ambition is to build a
'ecologically sound county'," he said.
   In the wealthy southern province of Guangdong, the
government has set the GDP growth target at 9 percent
for 2004 as against 13.6 percent last year.
   "The scaling down of the target will help improve
the quality and efficiency of economic activities,"
said Chen Shanru, directorof the provincial
development and reform commission.
   The growth-centered development strategy was
attributed to the late leader Deng Xiaoping and it has
brought about a 25-year high-speed development, with
the per capita GDP topping 1,000 US dollars by the end
of last year.
   That strategy has played its historical role, but
the exclusivepursuit for growth has proved to have its
flaws, said Prof. Wang Hongfu from Guangdong's
ecological environment and soil institute.
   One of the major flaws is the devastation of the
environment, said Prof. Wan. In one city in Guangdong,
he noted, the urban areasprawled from 4.7 square
kilometers in 1993 to 231.2 square kilometers by the
end of last year, but the area of a waterway wetland
known a "paradise of migrant birds" in the city has
shrunkby 9,225 hectares.