Opinions of the General Office of the State Council on Coping with the Global Financial Crisis and Maintaining Steady and Properly Rapid Economic Development in the Western Area of China

We shall guide sustained development of areas with abundant resources. Efforts shall be made to conduct pilots of cities practicing recycling economy in areas with abundant resources including Chaidamu of Qinghai, Erdos of Inner Mongolia, Panzhihua of Sichuan, Zhunger of Xinjiang and Liupanshui of Guizhou, and promote orderly development of resources. More endeavors shall be made on exploration of mineral resources to find major alternative areas with abundant energy and mineral resources. The transformation of resource-exhausted cities such as Baiyin of Gansu, Shizuishan of Ningxia, Gejiu of Yunnan, Tongchuan of Shaanxi and Wansheng of Chongqing shall be quickened. Efforts shall be made to work out guidance opinions on sustained development of areas with abundant resources.

The development of areas with minority inhabitants and old revolutionary base areas shall be quickened. We shall diligently carry out policies and measures of the CPC central committee and the State Council for supporting economic and social development of Tibet, Xinjiang, Ningxia and Tibetan-inhabited areas of Qinghai, give more supports to the development of poverty-stricken areas with concentration of minority inhabitants including south of Guizhou, north of Guangxi, east of Yunnan, three prefectures in south of Xinjiang, mountain areas of Wulin, north of Sichuan and south of Gansu, and explore development modes. Supports shall be given to the labor service export matching program between developed areas and areas with minority inhabitants. More supports shall be given to the areas with nationals with small population. We shall support some autonomous counties with concentration of poverty-stricken people to develop their economy. Efforts shall be made to promote the program of booming border areas and formulate plans for development and opening up of border areas. We shall enhance the self-development abilities of old revolutionary base areas, mainly settle outstanding issues regarding traffic, water resource, education and health service, and encourage those areas to take advantage of energy, mineral resources, agriculture and tourism to old revolutionary sites to develop industries with characteristics. The preliminary works on drafting the Plan for Rejuvenating Old Revolutionary Base Areas in Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia shall be started.

We shall promote fast development of major cities at borders. Efforts shall be made to quicken the building of major gateway cities, improve functions of border economic cooperation zones, expand scale of border trades and improve export-oriented processing level. We shall actively promote further opening up of Dongxing of Guangxi, Ruili of Yunnan, Yining of Xinjiang and Manzhouli of Inner Mongolia, enhance efforts on cooperation with neighboring countries and regions on development and utilization of resources and energies, and build major areas at borders for opening up.

7. Deepen reform and opening up and establish a new pattern of opening up to other areas of China and foreign countries

The reform of institutional system shall be promoted. Efforts shall be made to change the functions of governments, reduce and regulate administrative examination and approval and improve administrative efficiency. We shall enhance efforts on public administration and service and establish responsibility and service-oriented governments. The development of nonpublic economy shall be quickened, the environment for development shall be improved and the percentage of such economy in the national economy shall be increased. We shall advance layout and structural adjustment of national economy, deepen reform of state-owned enterprises and energetically develop large enterprises and groups. The reform of resource tax shall be promoted and the relationship between central government and local governments in respect of distribution of compensation fees for mineral resources shall be adjusted. We shall establish the ecological compensation mechanism, conduct pilots for ecological compensation in riverhead areas including Sanjiangyuan in Qinghai and areas of extremely important ecological positions, and set up national integrated experimental zones for ecological protection. The long-term stable sources of funds for western development shall be perfected.