State investment in ethnic areas up by 6 times in 10 years
State investment in ethnic areas up by 6 times in 10 years
09:36, November 22, 2009 
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The Chinese government's investment in fixed assets to the country's ethnic minority areas had increased by 5.8 times since 1999, an official said Saturday.
State investment in the ethnic areas, including five autonomous regions and three provinces with heavy ethnic minority presence, had jumped from 272.8 billion yuan (40 billion U.S. dollars) in 1999 to 1.8 trillion yuan in 2008, said Le Changhong, a director under the State Ethnic Affairs Commission (SEAC).
The increased investment largely went to infrastructure construction, such as building railways, roads and gas transmitting pipes, Le said at a press conference.
Total road mileage in these areas reached 850,000 kilometers, about 2.5 times of the figure 10 years ago, and rail mileage had been extended by 40 percent to nearly 20,000 kilometers, said Le, director of the SEAC's Economic Development Department.
The areas' per capita gross domestic product (GDP) climbed from4,293 yuan to 16,057 yuan during the years, Le said. The average annual net income of farmers and herdsmen increased from 1,622 yuan to 3,389 yuan.
The number of impoverished people in rural areas had been reduced by more than 25 million, he said.
These areas have developed industries with local features, according to Le, such as mutton, milk and wool in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, cotton in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and sugar in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The ethnic areas also include Tibet Autonomous Region, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and Yunnan, Guizhou and Qinghai provinces.
Source: Xinhua
State investment in the ethnic areas, including five autonomous regions and three provinces with heavy ethnic minority presence, had jumped from 272.8 billion yuan (40 billion U.S. dollars) in 1999 to 1.8 trillion yuan in 2008, said Le Changhong, a director under the State Ethnic Affairs Commission (SEAC).
The increased investment largely went to infrastructure construction, such as building railways, roads and gas transmitting pipes, Le said at a press conference.
Total road mileage in these areas reached 850,000 kilometers, about 2.5 times of the figure 10 years ago, and rail mileage had been extended by 40 percent to nearly 20,000 kilometers, said Le, director of the SEAC's Economic Development Department.
The areas' per capita gross domestic product (GDP) climbed from4,293 yuan to 16,057 yuan during the years, Le said. The average annual net income of farmers and herdsmen increased from 1,622 yuan to 3,389 yuan.
The number of impoverished people in rural areas had been reduced by more than 25 million, he said.
These areas have developed industries with local features, according to Le, such as mutton, milk and wool in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, cotton in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region and sugar in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
The ethnic areas also include Tibet Autonomous Region, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and Yunnan, Guizhou and Qinghai provinces.
Source: Xinhua
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