Jiao Yang, the spokeswoman for Shanghai municipal government, answered media questions on the city’s newly adopted scheme to serve the country and aid underdeveloped regions during the“11th Five-Year”period (2006-2010) via the Internet on May 14.

1. Q: What did Shanghai achieve in serving the country and helping underdeveloped regions during the“10th Five-Year”period (2001-2005)? How should the city further improve the work?

A：Under the centralized planning of the country, Shanghai complied with the country’s guiding principle of“taking into consideration the overall situation, further implementing the policy of opening up to the outside world, serving the country and achieving a win-win situation from cooperation.”During the“10th Five-Year”period, the city has made great achievements in developing cooperation with underdeveloped regions and providing them with aid. Shanghai has fulfilled the major goals set by its scheme on cooperation with other areas in the country during the“10th Five-Year”period. Its achievements are mainly in four areas: 1. the aid programs for chosen underdeveloped regions; 2. inter-regional cooperation；3. Shanghai’s influence on other areas；4. the friendship and exchange between Shanghai and other areas in the country.

Take the aid programs for example: Shanghai was exploring a method for encouraging public participation in the government-led aid programs during the 10th five-year period. Altogether 1.13 billion yuan (US$146.36 million) was granted to 1,490 programs—including promoting the development of 884 chosen villages—to help underdeveloped regions in such fields as poverty elimination, immigrant settlement, social welfare, specialist training and economic & technology cooperation. The benefited areas include the Rikaze and Akesu Areas of the Tibet Autonomous Region, Wenshan, Honghe, Simao (now called Pu’er) and Diqing Counties in Yunnan Province, Wanzhou in Chongqing Municipality, and Yiling District in Hubei’s Yichang City (Wanzhou and Yiling are designated as part of the Three Gorges Project). Altogether 1,800 local officials and volunteers were dispatched to the areas, and they helped train a large number of specialists. Shanghai signed 924 cooperation pacts in economy and technology, with a contracted capital of 17.48 billion yuan. To be more specific, 413 million yuan was invested in 259 infrastructure construction and welfare projects in the Rikaze Area of the Tibet Autonomous Region, including Zhashi Cultural Square, a residential housing project, a road and a stadium named after Shanghai, and the teaching building of Rikaze Polytechnic School. Another 160 million yuan was invested in 388 projects to develop science, education, culture and medicine in the Akesu Area of the Tibet Autonomous Region, including a training center for local teachers, a recreation center for youth, a library, a first-aid station and a science and technology center.

Some 429 million yuan was invested in 1,625 projects in Wenshan, Honghe, Simao (now called Pu’er) and Diqing Counties in Yunan Province; Programs were also launched to help minority groups—De’ang in Dehong Prefecture and Kucong in Simao County. Another 125 million yuan was granted for 218 projects in Wanzhou in Chongqing Municipality and Yiling District in Hubei’s Yichang City, to help them develop agriculture and tourism, and build employment centers for immigrants relocated from the Three Gorges Project; Shanghai helped 7,519 immigrants from the Three Gorges project settle down. Shanghai shared its experience in aid programs with Yunnan Province at the Global Poverty Conference. The city has been honored for its efforts to help immigrants relocated from The Three Gorges Project by the State Council’s committee in charge of the project. The city’s office in charge of aid programs for Yunnan Province was named by the State Council as a role model for the eastern and western regions’collaboration in eliminating poverty.

As well, Shanghai has great progress in inter-regional cooperation and its opening up to other areas of the country. However, there is still room for improvement: Shanghai needs to further integrate resources in its aid programs; the expansion of local enterprises into other areas of the country should be facilitated; the operating mechanism for inter-regional cooperation should be improved; the climate for opening up to other areas of the country should be improved; the city needs to better serve the country.

2. Q: Could you elaborate on the features of the city’s scheme to serve the country and help underdeveloped regions during the“11th Five Year”period?

A: The central government has set the goal of establishing a harmonious society and boosting balanced development among all regions. It also ordered Shanghai to serve the Yangtze River Delta, its neighboring areas and the whole country, and imposed new requirements for Shanghai’s efforts to serve the country and help underdeveloped regions during the“11th Five Year period”. To work under the scientific concept of development, implement the country’s overall strategy on development and encourage mutual beneficial development of the east, middle and west regions of the country are both tasks given by the central government and a responsibility Shanghai has to fulfill.

To sum up, the city’s efforts to serve the country and help underdeveloped regions have three features:

First, regional economic integration, a new-round of global industrial transfers and the country’s opening up policy to achieve a win-win situation have offered new opportunities for Shanghai’s development and its efforts to serve the country and help underdeveloped regions during the“11th Five Year”period. The city should further open itself up to both domestic and overseas investors, change its economy mode, give priority to modern services and manufacturing industries and promote industrial renovation. Meanwhile, it should improve its modernity as well as its influence on neighboring areaswww.TT91.com
to ensure the success of its scheme to serve the country and help underdeveloped regions.

Second, the central government has specified in a plan for the Yangtze River Delta that all the cities in the region and its neighboring areas should collaborate to develop and become the most competitive and influential metropolitan area in China and in the world. This assigned new task to Shanghai is for its cause to serve the country and help underdeveloped regions. In accordance with national strategy and the general interest of the Yangtze River Delta and its neighboring areas, Shanghai must collaborate with other cities to create an innovative mechanism, improve cooperation, upgrade the delta to make it more modern and raise its influence so as to make the Yangtze River Delta and its neighboring areas the country’s bridgehead for international competition and cooperation.

Third, Shanghai’s effort to develop into“four centers”, the pilot projects in Pudong District and the city’s preparations for 2010 World Expo have created a host of new opportunities for its cause to serve the country and help underdeveloped regions. Shanghai should improve its market mechanisms, boost its comprehensive function, create a new mechanism for regional cooperation and show itself to the world.

3. Q：What’s the guiding idea and basic principle of Shanghai’s scheme to serve the country and help underdeveloped regions during the“11th Five Year”period?

A: The newly adopted scheme has clarified the guiding idea and basic principles of Shanghai’s task to serve the country and help underdeveloped regions during the“11th Five Year”period.

Guiding idea: Guided by Deng Xiaoping Theory and the Three Represents, Shanghai should fulfill the tasks for helping underdeveloped regions, strengthen cooperation with other areas and promote a harmonious development in the region to achieve the goals of“Four Firsts”and“Four Centers”. It should also contribute to the cause of building a socialistic harmonious society by complying with the Scientific Concept of Development and the central government’s order for the city to serve the Yangtze River Delta, its neighboring areas and the whole country.

Basic principles：

1)、The city should fulfill the central government’s requirement, balance development within the region and collaborate with other areas to build a socialist harmonious society, in accordance with the national strategy of“inter-regional integration, coordinate development, East-West collaboration and prosperity for all”.

2)、The city should strengthen cooperation with other areas, boost factor mobility, and improve its service for the country to achieve interregional coordinated development, under the principle of“taking into consideration the overall situation, further implementing the policy of opening to the outside world, serving the country and achieving a win-win from cooperation.”

3)、The city should innovate the methods of cooperation, broaden its scope, improve its mechanism, focus on sustainable development and work towards the goal of“complementary, harmony, innovation and win-win”.

4)、The city should transform government functions, improve the market mechanism and create a good climate and system for public participation by encouraging“government leadership, market operation, enterprises to play leading roles and public participation”.

5)、The city should make overall planning and integrate resources to facilitate its programs to serve the country and aid underdeveloped regions by using the method of“making overall plans and taking all factors into consideration, focusing on main points, treating different situations differently and evaluating real effects”.

4. Q: How will Shanghai further accelerate its aid programs for the Rikaze and Akesu areas of Tibet Autonomous Region, the Wenshan, Honghe, Simao (now changed to Pu’er) and Diqing Counties in Yunan Province, and the Three Gorges areas during the“11th Five Year”period?

A：During the“11th Five Year”period, Shanghai will improve the mechanism for helping underdeveloped regions according to the central government’s relevant requirements and the guiding principle of“offering whole-hearted support, doing practical things and evaluating real effects”. Designed to suit different needs of these regions, the aid programs are expected to make the following three achievements: to directly benefit the poor, including improving their living and working conditions, and their education and health care systems; to suit the overall planning of the underdeveloped regions, promote the implementation of their planning for the“11th Five Year”period and advocate sustainable development; to satisfy the central government, the underdeveloped regions and Shanghai itself.

1)、The aid programs for Rikaze Area of Tibet Autonomous Region. The city will finance a range of welfare programs that serve the interest of common people, help the region develop its economy, promote ethnic harmony and strengthen borderland stability to meet the central government’s requirement for“nationwide effort to help Tibet”. The programs will give priority to croplands and pastures, as well as farmers and herdsmen.

——Launch a series of welfare programs to benefit poor farmers and herdsmen. The programs will be undertaken together with the development of local grass-roots organizations of the Party to promote social stability in Tibet.

——Finance a series of projects to help improve local education and health care systems, including building primary and middle schools and maternity hospitals and granting the area access to an online system which offers medical advice from Shanghai experts.

——Promote cooperation in tourism, encourage public and private investment in local tourism infrastructure construction, participate in developing local scenic spots and help the area improve tourism service.

2)、The aid programs for Akesu Area of Tibet Autonomous Region.

The aid programs will gradually shift its focus to help farmers & herdsmen and poor counties & villages to comply with the central government’s requirements for aid programs for Tibet. A series of programs aiming at eliminating poverty and promoting public welfare will be launched to improve the living standard of poor farmers & herdsmen and promote social stability.

——Choose a series of poor villages to help them develop economy; build earthquake-resistant houses, houses for grass-roots village committees and community centers for villages; help improve living and working conditions of poor herdsmen.

——Finance a series of projects to help improve local education and health care systems, including building primary and middle schools and maternity hospitals and granting the area access to an online system which offers medical advice from Shanghai experts.

——Help build Akesu Museum, assist it to promote the Culture of Qiuci (an ancient kingdom located on a branch of the Silk Road) and local folk songs, encourage public and private investment in local tourism industry, participate in developing local scenic spots and advance its tourism infrastructure construction.

——Promote bilateral economic and social cooperation; encourage Shanghai enterprises to tap Akesu Area’s resources by participating into its“6122”project (namely, to build Akesu Area into the production center for petrochemicals, electric power, coal, cotton, fruit and grain; to become a tourism destination famous for relics of Quici and the Silk Road era; to promote the Culture of Qiuci and local folk songs; to step up the development of Akesu City and Kuqa County, the two powerhouses of the Akesu Area).

3)、The aid programs for Wenshan, Honghe, Simao (now called Pu’er) and Diqing Counties in Yunnan Province. Shanghai will implement the State Council’s Plan for Eliminating Poverty in Chinese Villages (2001-2010) and adopt the strategy of“helping the whole village get rid of poverty by developing local industries and providing training courses for villagers”so as to help the poor get rich.

——Help chosen villages develop economy by making overall planning for the whole villages and conduct pilot studies in sub-villages: Improve the living and working conditions for poor villagers and local education & health care systems; increase incomes of poor villagers; lay a solid foundation for building the new socialist countryside.

——Boost programs in fields such as education and health care: Build or renovate primary and middle schools, set up clinics in poor villages and make education and health care more easily accessible to poor farmers and their children.

——Explore a way of jointly developing industries which have great market potential and where the areas have competitive edge: Strengthen economic cooperation with the four areas; jointly develop local breeding industry, tourism, processed food industry and their industry chains so as to increase incomes for the poor.

——Establish a mechanism for training workers: Set up a labor training center; increase the competitiveness of the local excess labor force in the domestic labor market by providing them with training courses, thus helping more people get rid of poverty.

——Take efforts to help minority groups, namely, De’ang in Dehong Prefecture and Kucong in Simao County: Help chosen villages develop their economy, advocate social projects in rural areas, cooperate with local government for the relocation program for Kucong people, develop agriculture & stockbreeding and increase incomes of poor farmers.

4)、The aid programs for Wanzhou of Chongqing Municipality and Yiling District of Hubei’s Yiling City. The city will implement the country’s Plan for Social and Economic Development in the Three Gorges Areas and comply with the guiding principle of“helping immigrants relocate smoothly, ensure them a stable life and help them get rich gradually”. To promote the economic develop in Wanzhou and Yiling, the city will help them build a series of projects that serve social welfare, develop local industries, improve their investment climates and encourage Shanghai enterprises to invest there.

——Subsidize industries where the areas have competitive edge: Give priority to the four industries (orange production, aquatic industry, stockbreeding and tourism); help build production centers for high quality oranges and teas; develop breeding centers for aquatic products and pigs; help explore local tourism resources and develop tourism.

——Build employment zones for immigrants: Set up parks especially for hiring immigrants in Wanzhou and Yiling; construct standardized factory buildings and improve investment climate to attract large enterprises settle down in the parks, thus creating more employment opportunities for immigrants.

——Provide training courses for local excess labor forces and create opportunities for labor export: Set up special agencies for labor training and export; help build labor training facilities to increase local residents’competitiveness in the labor market; offer employment information service and create more opportunities for labor export.

——Encourage Shanghai enterprises to participate in the economic development of Wanzhou and Yiling: Send business delegations there; encourage Shanghai enterprises to advocate industrial development there and help immigrants to get employed; help them launch publicity campaigns such as food fairs in Shanghai to attract investment and sell food products.

5. Q: How will Shanghai advocate the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt during the“11th Five Year”period?

A: During the“11th Five Year”period, Shanghai will further implement the country’s Overall Plan for the Yangtze River Delta, and boost cooperation in major fields such as traffic, technological innovation, environmental protection and energy. It will also broaden the scope of cooperation, improve the coordination mechanism and promote cooperation in developing the Yangtze River Delta. Under the leadership of relevant government departments, the city will work with neighboring cities to explore the potential of the Yangtze River as a golden waterway and advocate the creation of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Here are the main aspects：

——Boost cooperation among cities along the Yangtze River Delta in major fields: Strengthen cooperation in six areas, including information, planning, science and technology, property rights, tourism and collaboration; establish a mechanism for sharing resources; achieve substantial progress in the cooperation in six new areas, including port, customs clearance, human resources, the introduction of universal traffic card, credit system and education.

——Boost the integration of financial resources in the Yangtze River Delta: Establish a mechanism for boosting cooperation among governments and financial supervisors; share financial achievements with the whole region; encourage financial cooperation; work in cooperation with other cities in the region to develop financial infrastructure construction and improve the financial climate.

——Support the development of regional trade associations in the Yangtze River Delta: Make preferential policies and offer guidance; facilitate the establishment of regional trade associations and bodies in fields such as integrated circuitry, software and property rights transactions; try to build in negotiation mechanisms for industry standards, industry rules & regulations, intellectual property rights, enterprise credit, management and monopoly elimination; regulate enterprise activities and promote a favorable cooperation and competition climate for the region.

——Work with other cities in the region to develop a modern water transport industry: Take the opportunity of the development of the Yangshan Deep Water Port to advocate pilot projects for the establishment of a water transport information system and the reform of Customs clearance in the region; cooperate with other cities in the region to develop river, sea, rail and land transport, and cargo container shipments along the river; collaborate with other cities in the region to develop service industries such as international logistics and third party logistics.

——Boost cooperation between harbors and airports in the region: Make full use of Shanghai’s competitive edge in fields such as capital operation, equipment and human resources management; encourage Shanghai enterprises to integrate with other companies in the region to expand business and achieve economies of scale.

——Deepen the study on how to jointly explore the potential of Yangtze River as a golden waterway: Organize experts to conduct relevant researches, hold high-level forums and improve the cooperation mechanism.

6. Q: The World Expo 2010 is a national concern. Does the newly adopted scheme set any requirement concerning it?

A：Under the requirement of“hosting a successful, magnificent and memorable Expo”, Shanghai will rely on the whole country to help it hold the Expo successfully and make it a chance for the country to show itself to the world.

——Actively participate in creating forums for the Expo; Help the country’s other areas to hold promotions such as investment fairs, exhibitions and forums during the Expo.

——Implement the Planning for Cooperation in Information Service within the Yangtze River Delta during the“11th Five-Year”Period, boost regional cooperation in information industry, and provide good services for participants of online Expo events.

——Give a good reception to representatives from around the country; Assist other areas of the country to hold activities such as performance and parades in the Expo Venues.

——Tap the hotel and transport resources of the Yangtze River Delta and collaborate with other cities in the region to provide adequate accommodation and transport services for tourists from both home and abroad.

7. Q: How will Shanghai respond when other areas in the country are hit by serious natural disasters or other emergencies?

A: Shanghai is continuously improving its mechanism for providing emergency aid to other areas in the country. The newly adopted scheme orders the city to implement its plan on how to provide emergency aid when other areas suffer natural disasters and how to respond to their gratitude. The city should choose the right emergency response schemes and aid programs for different natural disasters. It should also respond promptly to help the suffering areas to recover from disasters and improve the management of local venues for receiving donations from local citizens and organizations.