16pc of mainlanders are still living under the poverty line despite massive drive to increase affluence, forum told
The income gap between the affluent east coast and the mainland's poorer central and western regions is widening at an ever-faster pace, a central government official has warned.
'In 1990, the average income of residents in the eastern region was 2.1 times that of those living in the west,' said Gao Guangsheng, deputy director of regional economics with the National Development and Reform Commission. 'The gap widened to 2.8 times in 2000, and hit 3.24 times in 2003.'
The imbalance in economic development among the regions had also accelerated, he told an international forum on urban development in Beijing yesterday.
Mr Gao said that in terms of relative development, the east was rated 58.7 in 1990 and had risen to 60.5, whereas the central region had fallen from 27.5 to 26.3 and the west had declined from 13.8 to 13.2.
Last year, Premier Wen Jiabao promised to lift 30 million mainlanders out of extreme poverty within 10 years. In this year's budget, the government earmarked 15 billion yuan to help fight poverty in rural regions.
But economists cautioned that the government's efforts to tackle poverty faced more difficulties than in the past.