Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - In early July China announced fresh investment to the tune of 100 billion dollars for 23 infrastructure projects "to promote rapid and healthy development of western areas”, which lag behind the rich eastern coastal regions. Experts are arguing over what model of development will be pursued.

The gap between the two parts of the country also has recent historical reasons: in 1978 the leader Deng Xiaoping opened China to the industrial development and trade especially favouring the coastal areas with roads, railways, and hydroelectric power stations. The western regions constitute 71% of the territory but are home to only 28% of the population. They have plenty of energy and precious minerals, essential for the development of the country.

Now Beijing says it wants to achieve roads, railways, airports, coal mines, power stations in the West to attract foreign investment, increase vocational education and encourage the return home of migrants who now have to seek work in Coastal cities. The Commission for National Development and Reform (Csnr) explained that the projects will be developed primarily in Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia but also in Yunnan and Sichuan. There are tax exemptions for projects involving coal, oil and gas.  

Du Ying, vice president of Csnr appearing on television to explain the project, nevertheless stresses, which a robust growth is already in place in the West, reaching 11.9% in the last year.  He adds that over the past 10 years, the railway capacity has increased by 160%, 280% that of highways, the energy capacity by 550%. Fixed investment came to 3,600 billion yuan (360 billion euros). Although the per capita gross domestic product rose in the west to1, 933 dollars per year in 2008, just 41.9% compared to the east and accounts for only 17.8% of national GDP.

The government also hopes, , to stem the autonomist aspirations and protests in areas like Xinjiang and Tibet through better economic wellbeing and continuing to encourage the mass immigration of ethnic Han, who are often favoured in positions of power.

Experts say that, however, Beijing appears to want to replicate the development model implemented in the east, which has brought prosperity but also serious social and environmental problems, with tens of millions of migrants in cities forced to live as second-class citizens, the widespread pollution of air and water, poisoning of soil and desertification of entire areas. Above all, China does not appear to have any plans to resolve ethnic tensions and seems to think that economic development will eliminate all other problems.

Instead, scholars explain that, as in the case of Tibet and Xinjiang, development has benefited only small sections of the population, mostly ethnic Han, increasing the gap and contrasts with the local ethnic groups.