PACIFIC BASIN ECONOMIC COUNCIL
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Sichuan Looks Forward to Cooperation and Development Li Dachang Vice Governor of Sichuan Provincial People's Government Tuesday, May 18, 1999 The Challenges of the Next Century for the Pacific Basin 32nd International General Meeting of the Pacific Basin Economic Council Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre Hong Kong, China May 17-19, 1999 Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude for the invitation sent by the secretariat office of the 32nd PBEC IGM and it is my honor to participate to the 32nd PBEC International General Meeting on behalf of Sichuan provincial people's government. And I would like to take this opportunity to introduce some basic features, trancentury development outline and investment and cooperation opportunities. I. A Beautiful province and the Land of Abundance Located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, Sichuan province is a big province in the west of China with an area of 485 thousand square kilometers and the population of 84.9 millions as well as 21 prefectures under its administration. Chengdu municipality, the capital city of Sichuan province with the population of 10 million, is the center of trade, finance and science and technology as well as the pivot of transportation and telecommunication. Sichuan is abundant of natural resources and was honored as the land of Abundance. With the exploitable hydropower resources amounted 110000MW, its hydro water resources rank the first in China. Pan Zhihua-Xichang region, located in the south west of Sichuan province, is the world famous zone for its highly concentrated vanadium and titanium ores, hydropower as well as biological resources. Countless mountains and valleys and 4000 year long history created rich tourism resources in Sichuan province. The world famous Jiu Zhai Gou Valley and Mt. Emei, Leshan Sitting Buddha Statues, named by Human and Natural Culture Heritage by UNESCO, San Xingdui Pile Relics, Du Jiangyan Irrigation Works and Panda Breeding Base and other natural and cultural spots also enjoy the world fame. The Favorable natural climate makes Sichuan not only become one of the most important agricultural bases, but also one of the three forestry and one of the five pastoral regions in China. Sichuan is an important industry base in China, With forty years investment from central government, a complete industry system has been set up. The machinery building, metallurgy, electronics, chemical engineering, aerospace and aeronautics industries perform of their own characteristics. To comply with the said situation, a comprehensive science and technology force with more than 400 research institutes with the manpower of 1.1 million engineers and technical professionals have been established. Among which the Engineering Physics Academy of China, the Wind tunnel Research Center, and Xichang Space Center can be regarded as their representatives. There are 42 universities and colleges in Sichuan with many highly qualified graduates every year. After the implementation of opening-up policy and under the guideline of Deng Xiaoping's Theory as well as the leadership of central government, Sichuan fully utilized opportunities and played its advantages. As a result, the economy has achieved remarkable progress with the more than10% GDP increase growth rate in the last twenty years. In 1998, the GDP of Sichuan reached 45 billion USDs and social retails amounted to 15 billion Usds. With the continuously improving investment environment,12 billion USDs of foreign innvestment have been contracted. In Chengdu, more than 3,000 foreign investors have set up businesses in this 20,000 square kilometers area. Among which there are Siemens, Hoscht, Byer, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Motorola, Aren, Alstom and General Water and other renowned companies. A prospective regional production, R&D and sales center for the multinational companies has been taken into shape. Naturally, there are some mountainous and remote regions are still in poverty. However, under the positive support from central government, we are improving the economic conditions in the said areas and assist the people to release poverty as early as possible. II. Splendid Future for Sichuan in the Next Century Facing the new century which is approaching, Sichuan provincial government issued the Tran-century Development Outline and National Economy Development Strategy in which the economy growth method shall be fundamentally modified, reforms shall be deepen, open-up shall be widen up, the economy shall be restructured, economy operation performance shall be improved so that an economy with healthy, sustainable development can be assured the next 20 years. It is anticipated that the GDP growth rate shall be kept between 8-9%, slightly higher than that of average nationwide. Tran-century economy development shall be focused on the enhancement of agriculture, energy, transportation and telecommunication, science and technology, the cultivation of IT, machinery building, metallurgy, construction material, pharmacy and chemical engineering and tourism. The General Development Outline of Sichuan province aims to create Chengdu Plain Economic Sphere, develop Pan Zhihua -Xichang region and southern section of Sichuan province and assist the hilly regions and minority regions around our province. In near future, the focuses shall be to comply with the progress of science and technology, positively push forward the information popularization in national economy and develop high and new technology as well as strengthen the commencement and operation of IT, bio-medical industry, new material, machinery equipment and modern agriculture projects. Key enterprises and products shall be cultivated, the development of high and new tech industry and some priority industries, products and regional economy shall be accelerated. The Chengdu Plain Sphere centered by Chengdu, which will be acted the vanguard, shall bring up the development of the economy in Sichuan province. It is anticipated that the investment demand of Sichuan province shall be more than 190 billion USD which shall mainly be used in the construction of infrastructure and environment protection, innovation of industry and the development of agriculture and Hi and New tech development. Pioneered by electronic and IT and tourism industries and hydro-power development and high energy consumption industry being with their own characteristics, a protection base in agriculture, industry, science and technology, energy and environment in the upper reaches of Yangtze River shall be established so that the sustainable development of Yangtze Economic Corridor can be guaranteed. III. The Opening-Up Sichuan Provides Tremendous Opportunities Being one of the birthplaces of economic reform in China, Sichuan provincial government implements the opening-up policy in constancy, and attaches the improvement of investment environment at the first priority. We are amending the Favorable Policies for Encouraging Foreign Investment of Sichuan Province, providing one-stop service for foreign investors and protect the legal rights of the investors. Therefore, the service system and legal protection system in Sichuan province have been built into shape. World Bank and IFC and Sino-Japan Economic Association have evaluated the investment environment in Chengdu Economic Sphere and appraised that the commented to environment is close to the level of Yangtze Delta and Zhujiang Delta, can be regarded as the first choice for investors in the inland region of China. In recent years, Central government fostered the support to the mid- west of China, encouraged capitals from coastal regions and foreign countries injecting into the above mentioned area, some achievement have been made. There are more than 400 km expressways, several expressways are under construction, a expressway network cored by Chengdu can be established by the end of this year. Power supply is abundant to meet the demand of foreign investors. In this year, we have expanded the investment on the infrastructure projects, the growth on the fixed assets investment shall be more than 25%, the newly started water reserve project in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River shall strongly promote the development of this region. In the next 20 years, a large-scale development of the mid-west shall be one of the major measures for Chinese Government in expanding domestic demand so as to pull up the economy. Meanwhile, it provides perfect opportunities for the international investors. With such a large area, huge population and market as well as increasing demand, Sichuan shall be the first choice for the foreign investors. Such large-scale infrastructure construction and resources exploitation, and nearly 10% GDP growth rate, it is quite rare to observe worldwide. Low production cost, expending market and improving investment environment shall bring satisfied returns to the foreign investors. We sincerely welcome friends to Sichuan for surveying, visiting, traveling, and holding talks on project developments. I am looking forward to seeing you in Sichuan. Thank you.