The Consortium for West China Development Studies

(Chengdu, China. December 11, 2003)

The Program of West China Development (WCD) is a key component of the regional development strategy of China in the new century. It has played an important role in China’s strive for modernization. The central government of China has clearly expressed its determination to further promote the development of West China. In order to strengthen the links and cooperation between institutions for studies of WCD, over 30 experts and scholars from Columbia University, University of Michigan, Central University of Japan, Chongqing University, Yunnan University, Xinjiang University, Ningxia University, Sichuan University, Southwest University of Finance and Economics, Guizhou College of Finance and Economics, the No.2 Northwest College for Ethnic Minorities, Ningxia Academy of Social Sciences, Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences, Sichuan Provincial Office for WCD, and Chengdu Municipal Office for WCD met in Chengdu on December 11, 2004 for a seminar on WCD and discussed the establishment of “the Consortium for West China Development Studies” (or CWCDS). The Comprehensive Planning Division of the Office for West China Development of the State Council of China, the Research Institute of Territorial Development and Regional Economics of the State Commission for Development and Reform sent their letters congratulating the conference and expressed their support for CWCDS.

The meeting was chaired by Prof. Zhao Changwen, Assistant President of Sichuan University and Deputy Director of the West China Development Academy of Sichuan University, and Dr Bao Shuming from China Data Center of the University of Michigan. Prof. Lu Tiecheng, Director of the West China Development Academy and President of Sichuan University, delivered a speech at the meeting. The participants reported the recent progresses in their studies on WCD and discussed the establishment of CWCDS.

1. Discussion on socioeconomic issues on West China

There was a lively discussion on the development issues in West China. Professor Wing Thye Woo from the Center for Globalization and Sustainable Development at Columbia University presented the mid-term report of a study being undertaken by an international research team headed by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University. Professor Wing Woo focused on four issues: (1) The mechanisms of income convergence across provinces should be strengthened by reducing the institutional restrictions on labor flows, and encouraging the flow of capital to the western provinces by making the western region an experimental center for financial sector reform; (2) Infrastructure investments in transportation, electrification, and internet should be increased to lower production costs, and integrate the Western Region to the world, enabling easier flow of goods, people, and information; (3) Rural poverty should also be reduced by making rural-urban migration easier through the development of markets for land leases, increasing government funding for health and education projects, and raising agricultural productivity through the establishment of agricultural research centers; and (4) Universities in the western region should be expanded and upgraded (especially by setting up research centers that study the ecological and health problems specific to the Western Region), and universities should design incentive schemes to promote university-business partnerships in order to lower production costs.

Prof. Lin Ling from Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences addressed some issues in regional development across administrative boundaries, industrial restructuring in West China, social development and ecological environment in his analysis of five key projects including the transport of natural gas from the West to East, the transference of electricity from the West to East, the program of “returning farmland to forest” and the protection of natural forests, the Qinghai-Tibetan railway, and the transport of water from the South to North. In his speech entitled “key project assessment in WCD”, Prof. Ding Renzhong from the Southwest University of Finance and Economics discussed how government behaviors can be better adjusted to the market in the implementation of projects such as “transport of natural gas from Western to Eastern China, transference of electricity from western to eastern part of China and construction of Qinghai-Tibetan railway”. Regarding a low urbanization level and a high primary ratio of large-scale cities in Yunnan Province, Prof. Nu Zhaohe from Yunnan University made some suggestions on how to promote urbanization in Yunnan Province by taking a new industrialization strategy. He also proposed some ideas on regional sustainable development in an analysis of the problems in the construction of hydropower stations on Lu River, Nanchang River and Jinsha River. Prof. Deng Ling of Sichuan University reported her studies on how to cultivate new industries and enterprises of regional advantage, establish new industrial bases for manufacturing, promote resource-based industries and alternative industries, and how to harness river floods. Dr. Yukio Kajita from the Central University of Japan reported his study on administrative roles in decision-making of regional economic development, and made some suggestions on cross-regional economic cooperation.

Participants also discussed the economic situation since the Third Plenary Meeting of the 16^th Conference of the Chinese Communist Party, particularly on revitalization program of old industrial bases in Northeastern China. They all agreed that those strategies made by the central government are important for balanced regional development and the modernization of China, which include the development of West China, acceleration of economic growth in Eastern China, restructuring of old industrial bases in Northeastern China. The program to revitalize old industrial bases in Northeast China and the program of WCD are two major important strategies, which are complementary each other. A key to revitalize old industrial bases in Northeastern China is to destroy “the last fortress of the centrally planned economy” by integrating the region into the market economy, and develop the Northeastern China into a new growth pole. The central government will need to put some funds for the Northeastern China development by issuing new bonds. The first 100 industrial projects have been initialized with an investment of 61 billion Yuan. The central focus of the Northeastern China program is on industrial enterprises. The added on funds from the central government, as well as the foreign investment, may help stimulate those old industrial enterprises, which will be then put into the market for sustainable growth. The investment of WCD program is focused on the construction of basic infrastructure, improvement of ecological environment, the stabilization, development and poverty alleviation in the ethnic minorities inhabited regions, which can not be totally supported by the market. The international experience shows that the government would invest on such programs in most cases. Moreover, the improvement of ecological environment will be a long-time process and cannot be finished by one or two projects. The implementation of WCD program is a long-term historical mission. There will be still many obstacles and problems during the development, which will need to be investigated and studied so that the government can make scientific decisions and move toward a right direction.

2. The collaboration on West China studies

The WCD program has been paid much attention by academic societies in and outside of China, especially in West China. Many universities and research institutions in West China have established various research centers for WCD and built special websites for their West China studies. Numerous papers, reports, books and journals have been published on West China Development. Each research center has built its specialized fields and made some achievements by focusing their studies on those key socioeconomic issues in their regions. Those projects include, for example, the sustainable development in arid and semi-arid regions by Xinjiang University, the historical studies of Xixia dynasty and frescos by the No. 2 Northwest College for Ethnic Minorities, the studies on desertification in Karst regions by Guizhou College of Finance and Economics, the resettlement and socioeconomic development in the Three Gorges area by Chongqing University, the sustainable development in ecologically fragile areas of West China by Sichuan University, the economic development in ethnic-minorities-inhabited areas by Yunnan University, the socioeconomic development in poverty-stricken areas by Ningxia University, the regional economic development by Northwest University, and the natural resources and environment studies by Lanzhou University. Participants have introduced their main researches and achievements, and presented the updated progress on their studies at the meeting.

Due to the lack of cooperative mechanisms and limit of personnel and physical resources, many studies on WCD are relatively isolated at small scales. Some projects are overlapped each other with low quality. Those projects have very limited influence on academic research or government policies. All participants agreed that it is necessary to enhance the cooperation among universities and institutions, particularly among those in the West China, and reinforce their influence on policy orientation. The development of West China needs international collaboration and support, so do West China studies. As Prof. Wing Thye Woo pointed out, West China is still in a backward and conservative state, under which none of those provinces in West China, including Chongqing, Sichuan, and Shannxi, can reach the top level of the world totally by itself without international cooperation. Similarly, those studies on WCD also need cooperation, even international cooperation, by scholars from different regions in West China and other parts of the world. Those research institutions and scholars in West China should collaborate closely in order to provide scientific evidence for local and central government in their decision-making.

3. The work plans for the Consortium for West China Development Studies

All participants agreed that the establishment of the Consortium for West China Development Studies (CWCDS) is necessary in strengthening cooperation between research institutions in the West China and start some practical work as soon as possible. Entrusted by the steering group, Dr Bao Shuming gave an introduction to the background of the CWCDS and some work plans. The consortium is designed to promote cooperation among universities, research institutions, and government agencies by building a collaborative platform and network, which may help improve the research quality and have more influence on decision-making by the government at different levels. The mission of the consortium is to get more support for west studies, to promote information exchanges and sharing on west development, to promote the collaboration on west studies domestically and internationally, and to make a great contribution to the education and research in the western regions and the socioeconomic development of western regions.

The participants have discussed those issues such as operation approaches, cooperative mechanisms, research projects, and routine work, and reached the following agreements:

1. The Consortium for West China Development Studies (CWCDS) is formally established. Prof. Jeff Sachs from Columbia University is invited as the chair for the overseas advisory committee and Prof. Wu Jinglian from the Development Research Center of the State Council as the chair of the domestic advisory committee. All institutions participated in this meeting are consortium members.

2. A domestic secretary office and an overseas secretary office are set up for CWCDS. The domestic secretary is in charge of coordination between institutions in China and the routine operation of the consortium. It is affiliated to the West China Development Academy of Sichuan University with Prof. Zhao Changwen as the General Secretary and Prof. Wang Yiqian of Sichuan University and Dr. Shi Yulong of the Research Institute of Territorial Development and Regional Economics of the State Commission for Development and Reform as the Deputy General Secretaries. Affiliated to the China Data Center of the University of Michigan, the overseas office will coordinate the collaboration and exchanges between overseas institutions, with Prof. Wing Thye Woo as the General Secretary and Dr. Bao Shuming and Prof. Penelope B. Prime of Kennesaw State University as the Deputy General Secretaries.

3. The work for the construction of research databases and the Internet network for the consortium should start in 2004. The website for CWCDS should be in both Chinese and English, which will serve as a gateway to the CWCDS members and a platform for network coordination. To promote exchanges and sharing of information resources, the consortium will develop a distributed network for those research databases such as “the database of arid and semi-arid areas in West China”, “the ethnic culture database for minorities in NorthWest China”, “the West China financial database” and “the database of population, resources and environment in West China”, etc.

4. The official journal for the consortium. Sichuan University is currently publishing an internal journal titled as “West China Development Review”, which will be upgraded to serve as an official journal for the consortium. The consortium will encourage scholars of the consortium member institutions to submit their papers to the journal. The journal will try to improve its quality and make it a public journal.

5. The consortium will coordinate well-known scholars in the applications for research grants. The consortium will evaluate some research proposals and select some research initiatives for the consortium in the fields such as the environmental protection and rural development, the enforcement of the nine-year education program in West China, public health, basic cultural construction, the development of specialized industries, industrial restructure based on local advantages, the improvement of investment environment, and strategies to attract intelligence, technologies and capitals into West China.

6. The consortium will hold an annual meeting in 2004, which will be hosted by the West China Development Academy of Sichuan University, the Center for West China Studies of Southwest University of Finance and Economics, and Sichuan Academy of Social Science. The future annual meetings may be hosted in turn by the consortium member institutions with different themes.

All participants feel confident about the future of CWCDS. They have expressed their determination to take this historical opportunity to work together and to contribute their knowledge and talents for a wealthy and beautiful West China.

“西部开发研究联合体”学术研讨及工作协商会

会　议　纪 要

（2003年12月11日）

西部大开发是新世纪、新阶段中国区域发展战略布局的重要组成部分，在中国现代化建设的战略全局中占有重要地位。中央明确提出，要进一步扎实有效地推进西部大开发。为了加强国内外西部开发研究机构的联系与协作， 2003年12月11日，来自美国哥伦比亚大学、密西根大学，日本中央大学，重庆大学、云南大学、新疆大学、宁夏大学、四川大学、西南财经大学、贵州财经学院、西北第二民族学院、宁夏社会科学院、四川省社科院以及四川省西部开发办公室、成都市西部开发办公室等30余位专家学者，会聚在成都，对西部大开发问题进行学术交流，并就成立“西部开发研究联合体”的有关事宜进行协商。国务院西部开发领导小组综合规划组、国家发展和改革委员会国土开发与地区经济研究所给会议发来贺信，热烈祝贺会议召开，并对成立“西部开发研究联合体”工作表示支持。

会议由四川大学校长助理、西部开发研究院副院长赵昌文教授和美国密西根大学中国信息研究中心鲍曙明博士主持。四川大学党委书记兼西部开发研究院院长卢铁城教授出席会议并发表重要讲话。与会专家学者就西部开发研究中的若干前沿问题进行了探讨，对各自所在地区与单位的研究成果进行了交流，并就成立“西部开发研究联合体”的有关具体事宜进行了讨论协商。

一、关于西部经济社会发展中的问题探讨

在学术研讨中，与会专家分别对西部开发中的一些具体问题进行了深入讨论。哥伦比亚大学全球化与可持续发展研究中心胡永泰教授（Wing Thye Woo）首先代表哥伦比亚大学地球科学院院长萨克斯教授(Jeff Sachs)所主持的中国西部开发研究国际课题组介绍了课题组关于西部开发研究的中期报告。胡永泰教授的报告侧重讨论了以下四个议题：（1）减少制度性限制,促进劳动力流动,缩小地区间经济收入差距.将西部建成金融产业改革的实验中心,鼓励资本流入西部.(2)增加交通,电气和因特网方面的基础设施投资,减少生产成本,从而有利于将西部进一步融入全球性体系,便于物流,人流与信息流的交换和流通.(3)发展土地租赁市场,促进劳动力由乡村向城市的转移,减少农村贫困.增加政府对卫生与教育的资助,建立农业科学研究中心,提高农业劳动生产力.(4)扩大与提升西部大学的规模与研究实力(尤其是建立关于西部生态和卫生问题的专门研究中心).西部大学应形成一定激励机制,以促进高校-企业合作伙伴关系,从而进一步降低生产成本.

四川省社会科学院林凌教授通过对“西气东输、西电东送、退耕还林与天然林保护、青藏铁路建设、南水北调西线工程”等西部开发的五大标志性工程的分析，重点研究了突破行政区划界线的区域发展规划、西部产业结构调整、社会发展和生态环境建设中的一系列问题。西南财经大学丁任重教授在《西部开发中的重大项目评估问题》的专题发言中，通过西气东输、西电东送、青藏铁路建设等项目建设，重点探讨了政府行为与市场接轨的问题。云南大学吕昭河教授的专题发言，主要针对云南的城市化水平偏低、城市首位度高的问题，探讨了在全面建设小康社会中，如何通过走新型工业化道路，推进云南城市化进程；并通过“三江电站”建设中存在的问题分析，提出了区域可持续发展的思路与对策。四川大学邓玲教授《统筹区域发展和西部大开发》的发言，就西部地区培育新的优势产业和企业，形成新的装备制造基地，促进资源型产业发展城市发展急需产业和替代产业，搞好大江大河的治理，等方面提出了独到的见解。日本中央大学尾田幸雄博士在提交的学术论文中，对区域经济行政支持的战略决策问题，尤其是跨行政区域的经济合作问题进行了深入分析。其他专家也就各自研究领域中的主要问题进行交流。

与会专家还对十六届三中全会以来的经济发展形势，尤其是中央振兴东北老工业基地等问题进行了探讨。大家普遍认为，实施西部大开发战略，加快东部地区发展并率先实现全面小康和现代化，支持东北地区等老工业基地加快调整、改造，实行东西互动，带动中部，促进区域经济协调发展，这是党中央做出的我国现代化建设的重大战略布局。振兴东北老工业基地与西部大开发是并行不悖的两项国策。振兴东北老工业基地的关键，是要彻底攻破这座“最后的计划经济堡垒”，使之真正融入全国市场经济大潮，成为中国经济“新的增长极”。谈到振兴东北老工业基地的战略可能对西部开发的影响，与会专家认为，振兴东北老工业基地会动用一些国债，国家会有一些投入，第一批100个工业项目，投资610亿元，目前已经正式启动。但对东北振兴，主体是工业企业，国家的投入主要是注入资金，再加上引进外资，激活其能量，启动后，就会交给市场；企业必须面向市场，政府只是扶持、推动。而西部的投入，重点在集中在基础设施建设、生态环境建设、民族地区稳定与发展、扶贫等，这些都不可能完全交给市场，在世界范围内都是政府投入的项目，而生态建设等都不是一蹴而就的，是一个长期的过程。实施西部大开发是一项长期艰巨的历史任务，在发展中还存在不少困难和问题，需要深入研究，认真总结经验，以利于科学决策，坚持不懈地把西部大开发扎实推向前进。

二、整合西部科技资源，联合研究、协同攻关

西部开发战略的实施一直受到国内外学术界的关注，更成为西部地区学术界的重要研究领域。近年来西部地区许多高校和科研院所都成立了西部开发研究的专门机构，建立了相关专业网站，发表了大量学术论文，提交了一系列研究报告，出版了各种专著、刊物。各研究机构立足于所在地区，针对区域开发中的重大经济社会问题进行了深入研究，形成了各自的研究特色，如新疆大学的干旱半干旱地区可持续发展研究，西北第二民院的西夏历史和岩画研究，贵州财经学院对中国喀斯特地区石漠化问题的研究，重庆大学对三峡库区移民与经济社会发展的研究，四川大学对西部生态脆弱地区的可持续发展研究，云南大学的民族地区经济发展研究，宁夏大学的贫困地区经济社会发展研究，西北大学的区域经济发展研究，兰州大学的资源与生态环境研究等。与会专家分别从不同的领域介绍了研究重点与主要成就，进行了学术交流，并通报了学术研究领域的若干最新进展。

由于缺少相应的协调机制和广泛的学术交流，加之西部人力、物力的限制,现有关于西部问题的研究，都还局限在一个相对封闭的区域内进行，内容重复,水平较低，在国内国际上影响有限，对政府部门相应的决策影响也较弱，因此，与会专家一致认为，加强国内外的研究协作，尤其是西部地区高校与学术团体之间的交流与合作，强化研究成果对政府的影响力度，非常必要；同时，从长远看，中国的西部开发必须建立在开放和国际合作的框架下，这其中也包括西部问题研究的国际合作。针对这一问题，与会专家指出，对于西部开发中存在的若干深层次理论问题，以及未来发展中的问题，都有待于西部地区学术界的联合研究，协作攻关，以期为政府提供科学的决策依据。美国哥伦比亚大学胡永泰教授指出，相对于东部地区而言，目前中国西部仍然处于落后保守的状态，在这种状态下，西部任何一个省市，无论是重庆、四川，还是陕西，要一枝独秀地真正发展起来，达到世界水平都是不可能的。西部开发的研究同样也是如此，也离不开西部地区的协作，甚至国内外的学术研究资源和协作研究。重庆大学雷亨顺教授指出，西部地区的研究机构和专家学者必须首先从各自所在的省市区出发,联合起来可以产生更大的影响，为地方和中央政府的相关决策提供科学依据。

三、“西部开发研究联合体”的工作安排

通过认真讨论与深入交流，与会专家一致认为，鉴于目前西部地区研究机构之间缺乏交流与沟通，成立“西部开发研究联合体”，加强与协作，很有必要，应尽快开展实质性的工作。鲍曙明博士受筹备组的委托，提出了成立“西部开发研究联合体”的几点构想，即以西部地区的高等院校和科研院所为主体，加强各院所与政府部门之间的合作，构造一个国内外学术界平等合作与交流的平台与网络，以提高科研资源的利用效率，近一步提高西部研究水平以及对政府决策的影响力。联合体的宗旨是：加强中国西部各大学和研究机构之间的学术交流与合作, 促进资源信息共享, 提高西部的教育和研究水平, 共同推动西部地区的经济和社会发展；整合国际和中国的研究力量，集中对未来一段时期内影响中国西部开发的重大战略问题进行研究，为中央和西部各地方政府的决策提供理论依据和决策支持；为国内外关心中国西部发展的学者和其他人士提供研究、交流和沟通的平台与机会。同时，利用国际资源提高西部地区的教育、研究水平。

与会专家对“西部开发研究联合体”的运行方式、协作机制、项目研究、日常工作等具体问题进行了充分协商，一致达成以下共识：

1、正式成立“西部开发研究联合体”，并聘请哥伦比亚大学杰弗.萨克斯（Jeff　Sachs）教授担任外方顾问委员会主任，聘请国务院发展研究中心吴敬琏教授担任中方顾问委员会主任。出席本次会议的各单位均为发起单位。

2、“西部开发研究联合体”设国内秘书处和海外秘书处，国内秘书处具体负责国内各单位之间的协调联系和联合体日常工作。国内秘书处挂靠四川大学西部开发研究院, 由四川大学校长助理、四川大学西部开发研究院副院长赵昌文教授任秘书长，四川大学王益谦教授和国家计改委国土和地区经济研究所史育龙博士任副秘书长. 海外秘书处主要负责国外各成员单位之间的联系与协调工作。国外秘书处挂靠美国密西根大学中国信息研究中心,由胡永泰教授任秘书长, 鲍曙明博士和Penelope B. Prime 教授(Kennesaw State University)任副秘书长.

3、在2004年，要抓紧进行西部相关专业数据库与网络建设。近期内要重点建设好中英文版《中国西部开发网》，并以此作为“西部开发研究联合体”的门户网站和主要网络协作平台。同时加强西部各院所之间的数据库开发协调,如《中国西部干旱半干旱地区数据库》、《西北边疆民族文化数据库》、《西部金融数据库》、《西部人口资源环境数据库》等,以促进信息资源交流与共享.

4、办好《西部发展评论》(West China Development Review)，作为“西部开发研究”的主要形象刊物。《西部发展评论》主要发表“联合体”内各高校与科研院所的研究成果。在近期内要着力提高办刊质量，提高学术水平，同时争取各方面的协作与支持，以全新版面，正式公开发行。

5、整合“西部开发研究联合体”内国内外知名专家学者，联合协作，积极向有关部门申报研究项目。在近期内要重点论证好一批课题，作为“西部开发研究联合体”的启动项目。近期内尤其要深入研究西部地区如何把加强生态环境保护建设与农民增收、农业增产和农村发展结合起来，全面发展农村经济问题；如何一手抓关系全局的重大项目建设，一手抓改善农民生产生活条件的问题；如何全面推进西部地区社会全面发展，确保五年内基本实现西部地区普及九年义务教育，切实加强公共卫生、基层文化等社会事业建设问题；如何积极发展特色优势产业。推进产业结构调整，依托重点区域，发挥比较优势、加快把资源优势转化为经济优势问题；如何着力改善投资环境，加强法制建设，吸引更多海内外人才、技术和资金投入西部开发等问题。

6、2004年内在成都举办“西部开发研究联合体”年会，由四川大学西部开发研究院、西南财经大学中国西部经济研究中心、四川省社会科学院西部大开发中心具体承办。要逐渐形成年会制度，并参照国际惯例，确立主题，针对具体问题进行深入研究，并在“西部开发研究联合体”内各单位之间轮流承办。

与会专家对“西部开发研究联合体”的建设与发展充满信心，纷纷表示，要以中央文件精神为指导，抓住西部大开发的历史机遇，深入研究，开拓创新，扎实工作，坚持不懈地把西部大开发推向前进，为建设富饶美丽的新西部，贡献自己的知识与才智。