Qin Guangrong, governor of southwest China's Yunnan Province, outlined four areas where the central government should allocate more support to boost development in Yunnan.

He made the proposal at a meeting of the National People's Congress Yunnan Delegation deliberating on the government report delivered by Premier Wen Jiabao at the opening ceremony of the Fifth Session of the 10th National People's Congress Monday in Beijing.
 
First, he hopes the State Council will give more support on policies concerning the pollution caused by waste disposal in Lake Dianchi. Although the State Council has allocated a large sum of money for pollution prevention and effectively controlled the deterioration of the ecological system, a lot more effort must be put forth in order to completely solve the problem. During the 11th Five-Year Plan period (2006-2010), Yunnan will implement six projects including the construction of a lake-circle road and pollution control to improve the lake's ecological environment.

Second, Yunnan should more broadly open border areas. However, Yunnan also faces many difficulties in this aspect, especially the customs declaration process. Qin called for state support on speeding up the process.

Third, as a province bordering many South and Southeast Asian countries, Yunnan should maximize its regional advantage.

Last, importance must be attached to debts in rural areas. By the end of 2005, debts in rural areas in Yunnan had exceeded 10 billion yuan (US$1.3 billion), and most of them are long-term debts. Qin suggests they solve the debt of compulsory education first, as a priority, and then solve other debts step by step.

(China.org.cn by Li Shen, March 7, 2007)