The Asian Development Bank (ADB)
plans to increase its support to China by lending up to US$1.5
billion annually over the next three years, according to the
Country Strategy and Programme (CSP) for June 2004 .
Endorsed by ADB's board of directors, the programme aims to promote
economic growth among the poor by giving them greater access to
opportunities for prosperity and re-emphasizing the need to reduce
regional disparities.
Despite consistently high overall national economic growth, the per
capita gross domestic product (GDP) in the interior regions is less
than half of that in coastal areas.
There are also wide gaps in health and education, as well as in the
level of infrastructure such as roads, railways, communications and
water and power supplies.
Challenges that need to be overcome include income and regional
inequalities, rising urban unemployment, the slow growth of rural
incomes, mounting environmental pressures, fiscal reform, financial
sector reform and the reform of state-owned enterprises.
"Since the last ADB strategic programme for China was prepared in
1997, the country has made exceptional economic progress," said ADB
Vice President Joseph Eichenberger.
"With this progress have come new challenges and new opportunities.
ADB's engagement can help encourage growth in poor areas that is
broadly shared and environmentally sustainable."
About 84 percent of the lending is expected to be for projects
located in the central and western regions where most of China's
poor live.
Bruce Murray, country director at ADB's Resident Mission in China,
said: "For ADB to remain a significant development partner of
China, we need to ensure that our assistance has a strategic impact
and is focused on areas where ADB has a comparative
advantage.
"We will work with the government to find new niches where ADB can
add value and broaden our portfolio," he said.
The transport sector dominates the lending programme, accounting
for 61 percent of the total.
It reflects the government's high priority in developing an
extensive and integrated transport network at this stage of China's
development - the poorer interior areas need to be linked to
markets.
Environmental protection projects will account for more than
one-quarter of the lending.
ADB will also support projects to clean up supplies of drinking
water, address water pollution and reduce urban pollution.
In the energy sector, there will be more of an emphasis on
renewable and environmentally friendly sources of energy and making
power more accessible in rural areas.
(China Daily November 6, 2003)