Urbanization-Driven Growth

By XU YING

IN Guizhou, two words are writ large across the period from 2011 to 2015 under the 12th Five-year Plan – industrialization and urbanization. Though they might seem like relatively simple goals elsewhere, the rough and hilly terrain of the province and its pervasive poverty complicate matters.

Yet Guizhou has in recent years overcome these difficulties and covered significant ground in narrowing the economic gap between it and more developed regions and is determined to maintain the momentum it has built and achieve strong and healthy growth with a holistic approach. To make these aspirations a reality, the old economic pattern has to be transformed.

The geographical reality of Guizhou hinders the development of a modern economy. The combination of dire shortage of arable land, scant mineral resources and a comparatively large population plays against the province in its ambition to bolt into the fast lane of social and economic development. As much as 92.5 percent of its territory is covered by mountains and hills. The rest is almost equally split between water and land, meaning sparse farmland to support its population of about 35 million.

Though the symptoms of underdevelopment are most evident in the countryside, the cure is seen to be in urbanization as cities have the greatest potential consumption. But according to a government report earlier this year, the proportion of the provincial population living in urban areas in 2011 had only edged up 1.2 percent from the previous year to 35 percent, still well below the national average. The pressure to catch up is intense, and obstacles are plenty.

The conundrum of Guizhou has recently received much attention from the central government. In January 2012 the State Council issued a document outlining strategies to work toward rapid and sound growth in this backland province. It envisions a step by step and balanced urbanization drive.

Central Guizhou will take the lead in the region’s development, which is expected to have a ripple effect in neighboring areas. An economic zone is also planned in northern Guizhou to boost cooperation and function as a supporting engine, and the three resource-rich cities on Guizhou’s western wing – Bijie, Liupanshui and Xingyi – will focus on sustainable growth as basis for their economic takeoff. Extra assistance will be given to the three prefectures with particularly large ethnic minority populations – Qiandongnan, Qiannan and Qianxinan – along the southern border.

In the 2011-2015 period, much will be done for urbanization. More high-speed railways and expressways will be built between bigger cities in central Guizhou and other urbanized areas to increase business opportunities for communities on their routes. A number of emerging regional centers will be cultivated on the outskirts of provincial capital Guiyang in the hope that their effects will boost urbanization by trickling down to contiguous medium-sized and small cities. The result will be that city clusters will pop up first in central Guizhou, and steadily spread to the rest of the province. The goal is to lift the urban population to 40 percent by 2015 and 50 percent by 2020.

Guizhou has moved swiftly on the plans. Last year Bijie and Tongren were changed from prefectures to cities at the approval of the State Council. Municipal infrastructure in the two cities is being steadily improved and reforms that will narrow the gap between rural and urban areas are being devised and implemented.

At the annual session of the provincial People’s Congress last January, Guizhou’s then governor Zhao Kezhi reiterated in his government report that cities are always the engine of regional economic growth, and urbanization is critical for Guizhou’s development. He went on to outline future plans and strategies, including drawing up specific urbanization programs for every city and county in central Guizhou. For example, a number of cities and towns will be fostered into hubs in the regional transport network, or famed tourism destinations, or industrial and trade centers. Preservation work will be ratcheted up in cities, towns and villages of historical or ethnic significance. In urban areas infrastructures, utility facilities and public services are to be improved, and urban administration will be optimized to expand the accommodating capacity of cities and towns. Enterprises are already encouraged to participate in urban development by hosting horticultural projects on their premises, and investors are enticed to build and operate public infrastructure.

The essence of urbanization is the reduction of the number of rural residents by helping them gain the wealth and means needed for city life. To do this, Guizhou will boost the industrial strength of cities and towns to create employment opportunities. The development of smaller cities and towns is planned in line with relocations, which may be incurred by poverty alleviation projects that move people out of areas of fragile environment or large engineering projects.

Reforms are also underway to unify residency registration, social security and public services for urban and rural communities. As the policies of the hukou – residency status tied with a citizen’s entitlement to social benefits – are relaxed, migrant workers and their families are expected to be eligible for equal access to public housing, medical care and education in cities. Work will be deployed to encourage skilled migrant workers to settle in cities and towns in an orderly manner. As part of the national campaign to build a new socialist countryside, Guizhou is improving infrastructures in rural communities and funding the renovation of dilapidated rural homes and the construction of methane pits for rural families.

Both industrialization and urbanization are intricate and onerous tasks that require years or even decades of careful planning and unremitting effort. But Guizhou has put its best leg forward, and is firmly marching in the right direction.