It is where the Yellow River has nourished some of the oldest
farms on earth and spawned the earliest traces of the Chinese
civilization.
It has the largest group of farmers (almost 70 million more than
the population of the United Kingdom) in China, yearning for jobs
in cities.
It is
Henan, a province in the centre of China and a major repository
of the nation's rural poverty, workplace hazards, environmental
degradation and disease.
Now, according to Governor Li Chengyu, with the nation's
increasing industrial might, Henan is set to perform major
cardio-vascular surgery on the Chinese heartland by building more
cities during the nation's
11th Five-Year?Guidelines (2006-10).
A cross-shaped city cluster with the capital Zhengzhou at the
core and comprising Kaifeng in the east, Luoyang and Jiyuan in the
west, Xinxiang and Jiaozuo in the north and Xuchang, Pingdingshan
and Luohe in the south, will emerge.
Each city will draft development programmes according to ground
realities.
For example, Zhengzhou plans to develop itself into a logistics
and regional financial centre while Luoyang will focus on raw
materials, manufacturing and tourism.
The nine cities are home to 40 percent of Henan's population and
its major businesses with economic output accounting for nearly 60
percent of the province, or more than 600 billion yuan (US$74.5
billion) last year.
"We hope other cities in the province, and even cities
surrounding Henan, will benefit from the city group," Li said,
pointing out that they all belong to an integrated system of public
infrastructure, high-speed roads in particular.
An inter-city expressway is being built to cut travel time
between Zhengzhou and Kaifeng, which are 70 kilometres apart.
Explaining the current state of economic development of Henan,
the governor said: "There are many cities in Henan, but we do not
have an outstanding city that is able to lead the development of
the whole province."
Compared with other provincial capital cities, Zhengzhou lags
behind in economic and social development, he said.
When the integration of Zhengzhou and Kaifeng is completed, they
are expected to play the leading role in development. The
population of Zhengzhou, which is 3.3 million now, is expected to
reach 5 million in due course, Li said.
The planned "city group" will boost Henan's urbanization
progress, the governor said, and will help local farmers find more
industrial jobs.
The urbanization rate of the province the proportion of urban
residents among the population stood at 30.7 percent in 2005, much
lower than the nation's average of 43 percent.
The province plans to increase the rate by 1.5 percentage points
each year in the next five years.
"Given the fact the population is nearly 100 million, it means
about 1.5 million farmers will become urban residents each
year,said Li Chengyu, noting it would pose a major challenge for
the provincial government, especially in creating jobs.
"If people cannot find jobs in cities and towns, the government
will face heavy pressure, or even bigger risks in handling the
problems caused by unemployment,?he said.
The provincial government will increase the proportion of
labour-intensive business and service sectors as well as private
start-ups to create more jobs.
Li, 60, was born in Haiyuan city of northwest China's
Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, one of the poorest areas in
China. He moved from Ningxia to Henan in 1993 as vice-governor and
became the governor three years ago. He is known in the Chinese
press for his long-standing position urging income increases and
social benefits for farmers.
Henan is an important source of migrant workers in China. More
than 15 million farmers from the province have moved to other
places to seek jobs, remitting 73 billion yuan (US$9.07 billion)
each year 40 percent of farmers?total income.
"Unreasonably low wage levels and heavy workloads are the two
most pressing problems for farmers-turned-workers, Li said.
For example, a worker earned about 500 yuan (US$62) a month in
south China's
Guangdong Province 10 years ago. But wages have risen by only
100-200 yuan (US$12-24) since then although the region has chalked
up double-digit economic growth.
While he cannot influence salary levels outside his province, Li
said a proposed minimum wage for farmers-turned-workers in Henan
might have a salutary effect in the rest of the country.
Turning to the household residential permit system, or hukou,
which is widely regarded as the major obstacle for farmers moving
to cities, Li said such restrictions have almost been lifted in
Henan. "If farmers have their own home and a job, they can apply
for hukou in cities,said Li.
But the reality is that many farmers are unwilling to seek urban
hukou because they do not want to give up their farmland.
To make life easier for farmers, the province plans to develop
itself into an important grain producer for China, an energy, raw
material and manufacturing base, and a transportation hub for goods
and passengers.
He attributed the increasing investment attraction to the huge
market potential, low labour cost, as well as ample supply of land.
"Some foreign-funded companies in coastal provinces are not able to
find enough workers, and even face power shortages, while these
problems do not exist in Henan, said Li.
(China Daily March 15, 2006)