REGIONAL disparity between eastern and western China should be reversed by government intervention with attractive policies to encourage investors to move westward, says a mainland researcher.
Unemployment and poverty are threatening the social stability of China because of the growing gap between the two regions over the past decade, warns Zou Lan, a researcher at CITIC Institute of International Studies.
The relationship between the eastern and western parts of China has been described by some researchers as ''internal colonialisation'', in which the backward region supplies raw materials for the developed region and in turn relies on the developed area for manufactured goods.
''The backward region is losing its ability to develop itself and favourable government policy and intervention are necessary to help them walk away from poverty,'' said Mr Zou.
Of the 420 counties in China which have been identified as poor, the majority are in the western region.
Various socio-economic indicators show that the living standard of residents in the west are trailing far behind their counterparts in the east and, in some cases, their living standard has been falling.
The development of the west is constrained by its economic structure, in which primary industry is predominant while the manufacturing sector is not significant.
