peopledaily.com.cn
Cooperation between eastern and western China are gearing up with richer capital inflow and more up-to-date technological know-how, economists said Wednesday (April 10) at an internal trade fair.

As the Sixth Investment and Trade Fair for Cooperation Between Eastern and Western China ended Wednesday, Jiangsu Province of prosperous eastern China and Shaanxi Province of less-developed western China signed another cooperation agreement, bringing the total investment and trade volume between the two provinces to two billion yuan.

Economists said that the provinces of Jiangsu and Shaanxi complement each other very well in terms of their respective industrial structure and natural resources endowment, which has created a great space for their business cooperation.

The economists also said the close relationship between Jiangsu and Shaanxi has moved into a "honeymoon" with China's entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the roll-out of China's "western-march campaign", an ambitious plan to develop its formerly underdeveloped western provinces.

Western China---potential huge market

Western China was backward in Chinese eyes. But since China triggered the western development strategy in the late 1990s, the western region has drawn the attention of business people from eastern provinces with its cheaper labor forces, rich natural resources and potential huge market.

Since then, thousands of business people began moving west to start up their business.

Initial experiments indicate that the central government's determination to speed up the development of western region has offered a big opportunity for the country's eastern area to recharge their economic engines, according to western provincial officials to the fair.

The coastal province of Shandong brought more than 1,200 projects to the fair, seeking cooperation partners in the western region.

Fujian Province, also from east China, however, tried to tout its new products in the fields of electronics, light industry and food at the fair.

While the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in north China organized over 150 local enterprises to attend the fair in a bid to seek cooperation opportunities.

Beijing and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region reached an agreement to jointly build a power plant with a total investment of 3.87 billion yuan.

Significance of combination of two areas

With China's accession to the WTO, the western region of China has become a huge potential market not only for eastern China but for the rest of the world.

Facing the fierce competition from foreign counterparts, enterprises of eastern China are now quickening steps to introduce more advanced technology and management expertise to western China to ensure an early-comers' position.

Economists said that to combine the eastern China's capital, technology and management experience with western China's rich natural resources and huge market will surely add new momentum to the country's economy.