So said Wang Xiaofeng, governor of Hainan Province, at the fourth plenary session of the Second People's Congress of Hainan, which opened yesterday in Haikou.

Wang said that until 2005, the GDP per capita of the island is expected to exceed 10,000 yuan (US$1,200) per year.

"This year is the first year of the 10th Five-Year Plan and the performance of Hainan's economy this year is of great importance for the implementation of the plan," said Wang.

He added Hainan aims for an economic growth rate of 8.5 percent and an 8 percent increase in public revenue this year. The income of both urban and rural people will be upgraded and the environment of Hainan will remain among the best across the country, he said.

Hainan has experienced rapid economic and social development in the past five years and has fulfilled the aims of the Ninth Five-Year Plan, Wang said in his report on the island's economic and social development during the period.

Since 1998, the growth rate of Hainan's GDP has been above China's average and in 2000, Hainan achieved a GDP of roughly 1.8 billion yuan (US$220 million) and public revenue of about 4.5 billion yuan (US$540 million), according to the report.

During the Ninth Five-Year Plan, the added value of Hainan's agriculture increased by 8.4 percent annually and the proportion of advantageous fields - such as fruit and aquatic products - rose to 44.3 percent of the island, the report said.

The industrial sector succeeded in curbing losses and saw a profit during the Plan, and in 2000, it saw 300 million yuan (US$36 million) in profits.

In the past five years, 600,000 poverty-stricken rural residents in Hainan have shaken off poverty and the number of poor in the province was down to 73,000, according to the report.

(China Daily 02/12/2001)