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Expert's View
Special> Post-Wenchuan Quake Reconstruction> Expert's View
UPDATED: February 11, 2010 Web Exclusive
New Opportunities for Economic Development
The counterpart assistance mechanism may create new opportunities for economic development in Western China
 
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Liu Shiqing, head of the Regional Economy Institute for Economic Research at the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences

In an exclusive interview with Beijing Review reporter Qiao Tianbi, Liu Shiqing, head of the Regional Economy Institute for Economic Research at the Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences, shared his views on the counterpart assistance mechanism for post-Wenchuan quake reconstruction, which gives each province or municipality responsibility for rebuilding one quake-hit county.

Beijing Review: Since the devastating 8.0-magnitude earthquake in Wenchuan in 2008, the Central Government has committed more than 200 billion yuan ($29.4 billion) to supporting post-disaster restoration and reconstruction in Sichuan Province, in addition to assistance funds from the 18 counterpart provinces and municipalities. How will those funds help restoration, reconstruction and sustained development in the quake-hit zones?

Liu Shiqing: The funds play an important role in helping restoration, reconstruction and sustained development in the quake-hit zones.

First, they supply much needed funding for post-disaster reconstruction. Second, they help promote social structural reform by increasing regional cultural exchanges and communications and bringing in new ideas for development of the quake zones. Third, they also improve industrial transfer and structural adjustment, industrial development, and regional cooperation and exchange. They bring in advanced ideas and technologies, and open new markets and channels for cooperation and communication.

In terms of the regional economy, could reconstruction create new opportunities for economic development?

Public services and infrastructure in quake-hit zones have been improved so far, thanks to counterpart assistance. For instance, hospitals, clinics and nursing homes in quake-hit zones have made huge progress with better conditions.

The industrial structure will also undergo a sea change, as provinces and municipalities participating in the counterpart assistance plan will not only give a helping hand to reconstruction in quake-hit zones, but also help promote local industrial development and increase the local employment rate.

How do you view the Central Government's counterpart assistance plan? 

The counterpart assistance plan is a great initiative pioneered by China. It is a unique Chinese model that combines socialist theory with Chinese characteristics with longstanding practices in post-quake restoration and reconstruction.

I quote Professor Hitoshi Taniguchi from the Nagoya Institute of Technology, who said during his field research in Mianyang City, Sichuan Province, "Counterpart assistance could not be achieved by any other country but China."

Some experts said that Wenchuan, the epicenter of the quake, is a moderate development region which is not suitable for extensive exploitation. How will Wenchuan develop in the future?

The development pattern for areas like Wenchuan will be a combination of ecological economy, population migration, financial transfer payments and enclave industries.

The core is the development of the ecological economy. Urbanization and industrialization will be promoted in these areas as well.

What's your opinion on "quick response to disaster relief, but slow in post-quake reconstruction" as some have suggested?

I think it is right. "Slow in post-quake reconstruction" does not mean low efficiency, but following the laws of science. Reconstruction planning is a must, and the blind pursuit of rapid progress should be avoided.

Now that the counterpart assistance program has been in place for almost two years, are any changes needed?

First, counterpart assistance planning for post-quake reconstruction was a bit pressed for time, especially considering the Central Government's demand to "attempt to finish the three-year reconstruction work within two years." There might be something missing or faulty in the planning, which we might figure out in the coming years.

Besides, the quake zones did not have their own teams in charge of reconstruction planning. Some counterpart assistant provinces and municipalities sent their planning teams directly to quake zones, and the relevant local organs only had to approve and confirm the projects.  

Because of the time constraint, farmers who lost land in the quake, especially those in remote mountain areas, were mostly relocated to nearby areas with moderate density. If there had been more time, ecological migration would have been better coordinated to give farmers access to better public services and infrastructure. It also would have been better for ecological recovery in quake zones, as most of the remote mountain areas now lack traffic facilities and public services, and some areas are geologically unsafe.

Second, it is very important to cope with the relationship between the government-led plan and the market economy, and between public services assistance and industrial assistance in the counterpart assistance mechanism.

Counterpart assistance is mainly a government action, which could not be replaced by the market's function. After the first stage of counterpart assistance, the next stage should be cooperation between the counterpart provinces/municipalities and the quake zones. This transition has already taken place in some parts of Sichuan Province.

Finally, more attention should be paid to establishing evaluation and normative financial transfer payment systems. We must reorient the whole project from relief assistance to development assistance, and shift from counterpart assistance to counterpart cooperation.



 
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