{
  "id": "RL31104",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL31104",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 101075,
      "date": "2001-09-12",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:21:08.323941",
      "title": "China's Western Development Campaign",
      "summary": "The Peoples Republic of China (PRC) began its economic reform and self-styled \"opening up\"\nprocess more than two decades ago with the hopes of developing the country's backward economy,\nraising living standards, incomes, and the quality of life of its citizens. Deng Xiaoping, architect of\nChina's economic reforms, stated that during the reform process some Chinese may get rich faster\nthan others, but he believed that the rest of China would benefit from this process.\n  Today, there are many signs that wealth has come to China and its people. The bustling\nmetropolises of Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing are signs that some Chinese did get rich. However,\nthe economic prosperity generated by economic reforms created large geographic imbalances. As\nforeign direct investment poured into the port cities and Special Economic Development Zones in\nthe east and on the southern coast, western China was largely ignored. Western China, home to a\nmajority of China's ethnic minorities, has remained relatively impoverished, left with inadequate\ninfrastructure, underdeveloped schools and health care, and high rates of unemployment.\n  Chinese leaders, fearing a backlash from ethnic minorities in Xinjiang and Tibet, began a\nprogram to develop the western region. The program, known as the \"Go West\" campaign has the\nhighest levels of support from the Chinese Communist Party. The \"Go West\" campaign attempts\nto redirect large amounts of central government spending, foreign direct investment, and\ninternational economic development funding to the western regions. Its goals are to develop the\nbackward economy and infrastructure, and raise the standards of living in the west. \n  However, many critics doubt the government's sincerity. They suggest that the campaign is an\nexcuse for China to exploit the vast natural resources of the western region, while imposing strict\nsecurity measures that will counter any attempt by ethnic separatists to break away from the PRC. \nThey express their concerns that building physical infrastructure will attract large numbers of ethnic\nChinese and weaken many of the unique ethnic minority cultures in the west. Critics also fear that\ndevelopment could destroy the ecosystem of the western region.\n  Congress has broad interests in human rights issues in China's far western region. For example,\nCongress is concerned about China's treatment of ethnic minorities in the western region,\ncrackdowns on religious freedoms, and involuntary resettlement. In addition to human rights\nconcerns, Congress is also interested in market access and fair competition for U.S. businesses\nseeking opportunities in the western region.\n  The \"Go West\" campaign also has received support from a number of foreign corporations and\nforeign governments attracted by the region's economic potential, especially in the areas of energy,\npetro-chemicals, transportation, and telecommunications.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
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          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL31104",
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Economic Policy",
    "Foreign Affairs"
  ]
}