The wealthy east coast
		"Rise of Central China"
		"Revitalize Northeast China"
		"China Western Development"

China Western Development (Chinese: 西部大开发; Pinyin: Xībù Dàkāifā), also China's Western Development, Western China Development, Great Western Development Strategy, or the Open Up the West Program is a policy adopted by the People's Republic of China to boost its less developed western regions.

The policy covers 6 provinces (Gansu, Guizhou, Qinghai, Shaanxi, Sichuan, and Yunnan), 5 autonomous regions (Guangxi, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Tibet, and Xinjiang), and 1 municipality (Chongqing). This region contains 71.4% of mainland China's area, but only 28.8% of its population, as of the end of 2002, and 16.8% of its total economic output, as of 2003.

History

Under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, the People's Republic of China began to reform its economy in 1978 by changing from a command economy to a market economy. The coastal regions of eastern China benefited greatly from these reforms, and their economies quickly raced ahead. The western half of China, however, lagged behind severely. In order to help the western half of China catch up with the eastern half, a Leadership Group for Western China Development (西部地区开发领导小组) was created by the State Council in January 2000, led by then-Premier Zhu Rongji.

Strategy

The main components of the strategy include the development of infrastructure (transport, hydropower plants, energy, and telecommunications), enticement of foreign investment, increased efforts on ecological protection (such as reforestation), promotion of education, and retention of talent flowing to richer provinces. As of 2006, a total of 1 trillion yuan has been spent building infrastructure in western China.

Effects

China's western regions have reported an annual average economic growth rate of 10.6% for six years in a row. The combined GDP of western regions reached 3.33 trillion yuan in 2005, compared with 1.66 trillion yuan in 2000, while net income grew on average 10% for urban residents in the west and 6.8% for rural residents.[1] Part of the strategy involves encouraging Chinese from wealthier and more crowded regions of China to move to the relatively less crowded western regions. This has drastically increased the numbers of Han Chinese in traditionally non-Han cities such as Lhasa and Urumuqi, exacerbating existing ethnic tensions.

Recent developments

• Chongqing Metro
• Qingzang railway, linking Lhasa and China proper

External links

• Asia Times Online: Asphalt net covers China's west
• China's Campaign to 'Open up the West'National, Provincial and Local Perspectives, The China Quarterly Special Issues (No. 5), Edited by David S. G. Goodman