Ready for change

Ge is confident that as the world gets increasingly flat, economically speaking, inland Chinese cities such as Chengdu will play an increasingly important role in China's economic development. For the past several decades, coastal cities have flourished thanks to convenient transportation. Now, as modern technology and industry play a more important role, inland cities are in a good position to develop.

Ge is trying to prepare Chengdu for this change.

The city's greatest advantage, he says, is human resources. While factories in many coastal cities suffer a shortage of skilled workers, Ge says Chengdu has made vocational education one of the top priorities of the city's policymaking.

"I am really concerned about training 'grey collar' and 'blue collar' workers," he says.

In addition to stipends from the central government, the local government offers extra subsidies to workers and their children living in the Chengdu suburbs so they can receive technical training. The subsidy will cover all school costs, and in some cases, even family living expenses.

The local government encourages high school students to attend vocational schools if they fail to enter college. In December, the city spent 350 million yuan (US$51 million) to build a vocational school. The school, which will begin recruiting students in September, plans to send over 10,000 technicians per year to Chengdu and beyond.

Chengdu aims to become a base for the information technology, automotive and food processing industries. A vast number of skilled workers will be needed to fill the gap. According to its initial plan, the school will offer training courses and cooperate with enterprises to supply talent to enterprises.

A clean city

Apart from the talent pool, Chengdu is trying to build itself into a place that is suitable to live in.

Ge is proud that nearly all foreign embassies have situated their offices in western China in Chengdu. "They chose it because they feel comfortable living here," he explains, adding that Chengdu aims to be one of the cleanest cities in China.

According to Ge, almost all the buses and taxies in the city burn gas instead of oil to reduce pollution. By 2009, the city expects to safely burn all the rubbish, instead of using landfills. It has also moved major factories out of the city, and is generating electricity with water, instead of burning coal.

In 2007, the city government spent more than 5 billion yuan to build over 30 sewage water processing facilities. Efforts to improve air quality have also paid off: 311 days last year had good air quality. The egret, a rare bird that had long been unseen in the city due to heavy pollution, has recently returned, according to a CCTV report.

"We want to be the city with the best environment in China, and I think we are well on the way to achieving this," Ge says.

The city's GDP reached 332 billion yuan in 2007, up 15.8 percent year-on-year, while the per capita income of urban residents surpassed US$4,000. Ge aims to increase the disposable income of urban residents by 8 percent, and rural residents by 10 percent annually.

Ge says strong foundations have already been laid, and that Chengdu's future looks bright.

"When you have the human resources and a suitable place for people to live, enterprises will come and see whether there is a market here for them," Ge says.

(China Daily August 7, 2008)