DESPITE PRESIDENT Jiang Zemin's tight grip on the Communist Party and state affairs, a considerable degree of what sinologists call 'inner-party democracy' manifested itself in the just-ended leadership conferences at the Beidaihe seaside resort.
According to cadres familiar with the proceedings, there was a remarkable divergence of views on the three major topics raised: the development of the western provinces, preparation for the country's accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and the rejuvenation of party cadres. At an informal session with central and regional cadres at a beach-side pavilion, Mr Jiang said: 'The party must do all it can to jump-start the economies of the poor western provinces in 20 to 30 years.'
The president called on officials to learn from how Washington developed California and the western states in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Yet neither Mr Jiang nor Politburo colleagues such as Premier Zhu Rongji felt confident enough to lay down a road map for the difficult task.
Controversy erupted over whether Beijing should try to revive the western areas mainly through boosting financial aid. Since the party leadership first raised the 'go west' banner late last year, cadres in provinces ranging from Guizhou to Qinghai have asked for more transfer payments and subsidies. Moreover, subventions for districts with heavy concentrations of ethnic minorities such as Tibet and Xinjiang are seen as essential to containing Tibetan and Uyghur pro-independence movements.
According to a State Council expert attending the Beidaihe meetings, however, a number of cadres argued that giving out more subsidies would merely increase the sense of dependence on Beijing. 'It was noted that subsidies to Tibet have had minimal effect on local development,' the expert said. 'For example, much of the funds from Beijing end up as sacrifices [by faithful Tibetans] to the lamaseries.'
Advisers close to Mr Zhu favoured asking the successful state-owned enterprises (SOEs), mostly those based in eastern cities, to invest in the west and even move some of their operations there. Various western provincial administrations have also offered to let SOEs from cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou acquire their state firms free of charge.