China has tolerated unequal growth and the growing divide between the rich coastal regions and the western hinterland in the last few decades, following the dictum of its iconic leader Deng Xiaoping who famously declared: ?Let part of us be richer first.? But there has been a growing realisation that smoother development requires pulling up laggard regions and helping them keep pace with the faster growing ones. Innovative steps to reduce regional inequalities received a big boost when China first launched the western development programme in 2000 and then the flourishing borders and prosperous people programme in 2005. Consequently, more money and aid has flowed into the western region.
A good example of the gains being made is the Qinghai province located in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau region. What makes the place different is its wide mix of topography and people. Deserts and glaciers, mountains and lakes, grasslands and cities, all coexist in this large province. And even more diverse are the ethnic groups and minorities that account for a sizable 44% of the population in the province.
The new programmes to reduce regional inequalities have been a boon to the provincial governments, especially in Qinghai, which has been reinventing itself to attract new industries. Trade fairs are being held regularly for almost a decade now. The most recent one, held last week, attracted a flurry of new investors from distant places, including the Middle East.
The results, so far, show that the impact of the efforts to boost investments has been largely restricted to agro-processing industries. The focus has been on using local expertise in traditional products like Tibetan medicines and health foods. Processing of meat products has also got a fillip, with the use of new technologies and better marketing. But the expansion is limited for two reasons. One, the harsh climate?with very low temperatures for at least six months and limited rainfall?makes the expansion of agriculture a formidable task. So less than a million hectares of land is cultivated. A major part of agriculture is limited to the rearing of animals like sheep, yak, horse, camel and goat in the vast grasslands, spread over four million hectares. A lucrative niche area is the production of vegetables, where efforts have focused on increasing year-round availability by using green houses.
An important natural resource is Qinghai?s abundant energy capital. The source of two of the most important rivers in China?Yangtze and Yellow?the province is an important supplier of hydro power, with as many as 158 generating stations. The Qaidam Basin is also rich in oil & natural gas and is yet to be fully exploited. The potential to exploit the energy reserves is immense, given that the province is also rich in minerals. It ranks on top of the list of locations with the largest reserves of 50 important minerals, including potassium chloride and manganese. In addition, Qinghai has more than 30 salt lakes with proven reserves of 70 billion tonnes.
However, long distances from the industrial heartland and harsh climate remain the major barriers to tapping the full potential of minerals. So, despite being one of the provinces richest in minerals, it remains one of the poorest, with large disparities urban and rural income.
Despite these glaring limitations, Qinghai and three other provinces with a sizable Tibetan population have gained from the large infusion of funds that focus on infrastructure development. A major outcome of the efforts to boost the western region is the Qinghai-Tibet railway project. It is the world?s highest railway line with oxygen supplies for each passenger and became operational in 2006. A technological marvel that can withstand the extreme climate, the new rail link has raised hopes of accelerating development by enabling unhindered access to far-flung locations in the region.
The improved infrastructure has also boosted tourism. The scenic beauty and innumerable historical Buddhist and Tibetan monuments have drawn a large numbers of domestic tourists to the region. But language barrier, inadequate marketing and the political sensitivity of the region have ensured that not too many foreign tourists flock in.
Another great challenge is the full incorporation of ethnic minorities into the development programmes. Though some success has been achieved in this regard in the urban areas, where extensive housing programmes have attracted a large number of people, the hurdles are far greater in the oxygen-thin high-altitude grasslands, where people still live in tents with their cattle as they have been living for hundreds of years.
p.raghavan@expressindia.com