China's regions and provinces are seeking to lure investors with
a new range of "green" projects in a bid to move away from the
environmentally degrading industrial developments of the past.
Zhenping County, in the northwestern Shaanxi Province, is one such authority
seeking to avoid polluting projects in favor of food or herb
processing.
"We offer 11 investment projects this year, including eight
environmentally friendly industries," said Luo Xueping, an official
with the county's development planning department.
Luo and other officials or businessmen are attending a trade
fair held for western China areas from April 6 to 10 in Xi'an,
capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province.
Like Luo, many participants are requiring investors for more
environmentally friendly projects in western China.
"Environmental protection is a top requirement in attracting
investment," Luo said.
Since China launched the strategy to develop its west in 2000,
the region has opened to an increasing number of industrial plants,
some of which are threatening the fragile ecological
environment.
In February, a newly built chemical plant in northern Shaanxi,
discharged more than 2,000 tons of waste water into a nearby river,
contaminating local drinking water. The plant was a project
introduced by the local government to promote development.
High risk industrial plants are common in other western regions,
such as the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.
Local governments are paying more attention to environmental
protection, seeking ways to achieve a balance with economic
development.
At the trade fair, local governments are turning to projects
that are low pollution risks, such as processing of agricultural
products or medicinal herbs, tourism and high technology.
Guizhou Province is trying to build a recycling
economy and any enterprises wanting to invest there are required to
have a "zero discharge" of pollutants, said Gao Hong, a senior
official with Guizhou's Development and Reform Commission.
"Guizhou boasts a benign natural environment, which itself is an
invaluable tourist resource, and we will not pursue economic growth
at the cost of the environment," he said.
Ecological protection had to be considered first in pursuing
economic growth, as the ecology was rather weak in the western
region, said Li Peicheng, an academician with the Chinese Academy
of Engineering.
"Environmental protection is a key principle in developing
China's west," said Wang Jinxiang, deputy-director of the Leading
Group for the Western Region Development Office under the State
Council.
"We cannot leave dirty air and polluting plants to our
children," Wang said.
(Xinhua News Agency April 10, 2006)