The Drive to Develop China’s West: An Inclusive Perspective

WEI Houkai1 and XIE Xianshu2

1 Institute for Urban and Environment Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, China 2 School of Economics, Lanzhou University, China

Abstract:

Since the launching of the western regional development program in 1999, the Chinese government has implemented a series of policy measures related to finance, taxation, investment, banking, and other related fields. This combination of policies has stimulated socioeconomic growth and ecological improvement in China’s western regions and has effectively curbed the runaway gap between the east and west, even causing the gap to begin shrinking gradually. However, it should be noted that the development gap between China’s eastern and western regions remains significant, as demonstrated by the west’s low level of industrial/commercial development, local governments’ limited capacity to provide public services, and endemic rural poverty. Thus, achieving the targets outlined in the western regional development program remains a challenging task. In the future, China’s western development program should emphasize a higher standard of living and coordinated, inclusive growth across regions.

Key words: China, western regional development program, regional coordinated development, inclusive growth

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