BEIJING, March 30 (Xinhua) -- Beijing-based China
Tibetology Research Center here on Monday published a Report on the Economic and
Social Development of Tibet. Following is the full text:
¡¡¡¡Report on the Economic and Social Development of Tibet
China Tibetology Research
Center
March 2009
Contents
Foreword
I. Growth and Change: Basis of Development
1. Growth of Economic Aggregate and Stimulation of
Investment
2. Industrial Development and Structural Change
II. Human Development: Goal of Economic Development
1. Population: Quantity and Quality
2. Education and Human Capital
3. Public Services and Civil Projects
4. Income Level of Farmers and Herdsmen and Poverty
Alleviation
III. Sustainable Development: Development Rooted in Environmental
Protection and Green Industry
1. Environmental Situation and Protection
2. Economic Growth and Sustainable Development
IV. Government and Market: Encouragement and Promotion for
Development
1. Market and Resource Distribution
2. Government and Development
V. Difficulties and Challenges: Obstacles to
Development
1. High Development Cost
2. Unbalanced Development
3. Underdeveloped Human Capital
VI. Conclusion: Prospects for Growth and Development
Foreword
Economic development in its conventional sense is
defined as a unification process of the growth of social wealth, optimization of
industrial structure, improvement of people's ability to create wealth, and
other factors. Economic development in its modern sense emphasizes human, fair,
coordinated and sustainable development as well as GDP growth.
This report follows the general principles of
economic development, accords with the basic facts of Tibet's economic and
social development over the past 50 years, outlines Tibet's economic
development, especially in the farming and pastoral areas, since the adoption of
the reform and opening-up policy in 1978, with a focus on development in recent
years, and sets the well-being of Tibetans, especially farmers and herdsmen who
are the majority of the Tibetan population, as the yardstick. From this
standpoint, the report discusses the economic and social development of Tibet,
and presents an objective and equitable exposition, analysis and summary of the
realities, achievements and challenges in these fields. The objectives of the
report are to provide:
-- A blueprint for a comprehensive understanding of
the economic and social development of contemporary Tibet by those concerned
with this field;
-- A source for making policies related to the
further economic development of Tibet;
-- A review and summary of Tibet's economic
development over the past 50 years since its democratic reform in 1959.
The China Tibetology Research Center, the promulgator
of the report, is an academic research institution specializing in Tibetology.
The authors of the report are Tibetan and Han Chinese researchers from the China
Tibetology Research Center and other scholars who have been long engaged in the
study of Tibet's development. In May 2008, the authors conducted on-the-spot
surveys and case studies of the realities of Tibet's economic and social
development after going through relevant materials and working out an outline.
Following the completion of the first draft, the authors carried out another
on-the-spot survey tour of Tibet in August and September 2008, adding new
materials, and making revisions and improvements to the report. The structure
and contents of the report are as follows:
I. Growth and Change: Basis of Development
Tibet's local GDP is growing rapidly, and its
industrial structure is undergoing fundamental changes. The structural and
proportional changes of the primary, secondary and tertiary industries signify a
positive transformation of Tibet's conventional industrial structure, which
exhibits both growth in quantity and enhancement of quality.
II. Human Development: Goal of Economic Development
Promoting human development is one of the main
objectives of economic development. The studies of Tibet's human development
index and related issues reveal that major indicators of the human development
index, including population growth rate, GDP per capita, average life expectancy
and average education level, of Tibetan residents, especially those of the
Tibetan ethnic group, are experiencing revolutionary changes along with the
rapid development of the local economy. Therefore, Tibet's development is
characterized by improved quality of life and guaranteed rights and interests,
as well as accumulated social wealth.
III. Sustainable Development: Development Rooted in
Environmental Protection and Green Industry
As Tibet's economy is developing rapidly, the
government is making increasing legal, administrative and financial efforts to
protect the environment and improve the ecology of Tibet, and giving priority to
ecological and environmentally-friendly industries in the process of framing
industrial development policies and guiding the market. In China, Tibet is the
place nearest to the sky and furthest away from pollution.
IV. Government and Market: Encouragement and
Promotion for Development
As Tibet is undergoing a reform toward a market
economy, the market is playing an increasingly important role in resource
allocation, especially in the price system. In view of the intrinsically
unbalanced resource allocation of the market mechanism in Tibet's farming and
pastoral areas, and the comparative backwardness of those areas, as well as the
low competitiveness of farmers and herdsmen, the local government is mobilizing
its administrative resources, financial support from the central government in
particular, to rectify shortcomings in the market and foster the development of
the farming and pastoral areas and the people who live there. While the changes
in the cities and towns throughout Tibet during the preliminary and intermediate
stages of reform and opening-up remain fresh in our memory, the development of
the farming and pastoral areas in recent years is even more impressive.
V. Difficulties and Challenges: Obstacles to
Development
Since the democratic reform in 1959, and especially
since the adoption of the reform and opening-up policy in 1978, Tibet has
witnessed remarkable economic development. Nonetheless, for various reasons,
many challenges remain, including high cost of economic and social development,
underdeveloped market, unbalanced economic and social development in urban and
rural areas, low market competitiveness of farmers and herdsmen, and
underdeveloped human capital. These are the long-term challenges that Tibet has
to address in order to achieve sound economic development.
VI. Conclusion: Prospects for Growth and Development
Although Tibet's society and economy were affected by the March14 Incident in 2008, the impact on most local industries was limited, except for temporary difficulties for tourism in Tibet. In the next few years, Tibet's economy is expected to maintain sound and rapid development in virtue of favorable factors such as increasing investment and transfer payments from the central government, rising income level of farmers and herdsmen, and burgeoning consumption by local residents.
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