Call for industrial journey to the west

The State Council, China's cabinet, ;_S {(jn
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v;YST4fD recently approved the 11th Five-Year Program (2006-2010) for the development of y,}N:OhL$u+u5WU
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western regions.Y&`.`~OWom:w
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    This approval demonstrates the value placed by the Chinese
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8UR2R/by"O` central authorities on the development of western regions, according to {F_D\#If0n

0r"dE5Y8W Professor Yang Xianming from Yunnan University's Development Institute who is a
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Consultative Conference (CPPCC).$t)VL rlC6o@
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    To such an end,accelerating industry transfer from east
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across the impoverished areas, Yang said.\bv+~%z4q n
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    Prof. Yang, along with the China Democratic National
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Zei!UX National Committee, which opened in Beijing on Saturday afternoon.
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&vo2_W_9K9{Z9s     In his proposal submitted to the current CPPCC session,

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Yang pointed out that China set clear goals to move labor-intensive industry sg#S^p]VE

+^ij{T.w1?l/SA westwards some time ago, but recent years have seen no progress in this respect, $|o5x@{4L1E ]%B

\k!T:v+Q5K8f t making it difficult to promote western industrial development and related
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    Professor Yang said, "Now plenty of cheap labor is still
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western China is markedly lower than in the east. Simultaneously, no policy
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exists in some eastern areas to support industry transfer while the western *V"C`t'kT{?9L
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investment environment remains unfavorable. All these bottlenecks restrict the
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transfer speed." _,i;Ot Ic

`g|Xj7f:Mu     To overcome such barriers, Yang suggested that the
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government create a precise industry transfer time-table while creating more 4\x5D!~#dF

h5H.x;Nn.@o favorable tax policies to encourage domestic corporations to move west. -Q#EV|Q,]x&D
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    The Five-Year Program was approved at a State Council
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executive meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao on Dec. 8, 2006. According
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\,G/S-@!x to the program, the 2006-2010 period will see new breakthroughs come in the *cm7thN\YJ9h(_+D
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fields of infrastructure construction and ecological protection including
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improvements to the transportation network and water facilities. .pV1o0q}fZ

Aj3B'L;Av.h     At a press conference, on March 1, 2007, Wang Jinxiang, 5D\&y2Z_1N

^ O5Y_jJ}5j!Ok vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), further
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f!|z.\.n#W"q-]fs;z encouraged foreign investors to "go west". 8a;j%^@g N,{U-[;_ Tk

O a-|5|v8Q}-Urvn     "The western region enjoys more favorable policies and has
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2[^^&c%xu"IFTZw*J more fields opened up to foreign investors than the rest of China. Foreign 6J0L$W!xba$||!L.`
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investors should grasp the opportunities," said Wang.