Growth corridors

Fortunately, Beijing has noted the problem.

"To strengthen the self-growth capacity of the western area … will be the general guideline for deepening the western development campaign," said President Hu in his July 5 speech.

"More efforts will be put on economic restructuring and independent innovation to push the growth of industries which will have embodied the local resource endowments and the industrial strength there."

Such thinking is a breakthrough from the philosophy for the "go west" campaign in the first 10 years, according to Xiao Jincheng, an economist with the Academy of Macroeconomic Research, a NDRC think tank.

"The central government is set to cultivate several growth centers within different economic regions in the western area, which are expected to act as dynamos propelling the overall growth of each region around," Xiao said.

Since 2008, China released a slew of specific programs for the development of regional economies that has, as of now, covered almost all the 31 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions on the Chinese mainland.

For the western hinterlands, the corridor connecting Xi'an in Shaanxi Province and Tianshui in Gansu Province, the adjacent area between Chengdu and Chongqing and the region surrounding the Beibu Gulf in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region are three regional "economic highlands," as Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao put it, which it's hoped will lead growth in the entire western area.

"For the coming 10 years or more, China is looking for economic propelling power not from single cities, but from different regions, and the re-development of the western area is the boldest plan," said Xiao.

The first 10 years of development of the western area have actually paved a smooth way for running the second round of the western development strategy, according to Wang Xiaogang at the Sichuan Economic Development Research Institute.

"I don't think policymakers 10 years ago foresaw what is happening today. But when China is trying to move away from exports and over-investment to alternatives like local markets and domestic consumption, the half-developed western area is right here to supply all that's needed - it's like a perfect pre-design," he said.