A RADICAL provincial chief has challenged central-level edicts by saying his region should pursue a fast-paced development policy in spite of the overheating national economy.
Mr Lei Yu, vice-governor of Guangxi, said the local economy was not overheated and that it must pursue a growth rate above the national average.
''The problem of overheating does not exist in Guangxi,'' Mr Lei said yesterday at a foreign trade promotions function in Hongkong.
''In the Eighth Five-Year Plan period [1991-95], our economy will grow at annual average of 11 per cent and I am confident that our 1993 growth rate will be above that.'' In defending his province's fast-track development, Mr Lei, nicknamed a ''cowboy capitalist'', said Guangxi had the ''rock-solid'' support of economic czar Vice-Premier Mr Zhu Rongji.
During a recent visit Mr Zhu urged Guangxi to speed up its economic construction, according to Mr Lei.
As a result, Mr Lei said Guangxi was prepared to go full-steam ahead to rejuvenate its economy by committing billions yuan of capital into its infrastructure, including the construction of five new airports, 14 highways, five power plants and five major ports.
Mr Lei stressed that the infrastructure upgrade was of paramount importance as the central government was committed to turning the province into China's passage to the Southeast Asian market.