Economy and Business

1st Urban forum to boost Western Straits Economic Zone

By Hu Meidong (China Daily Fujian Bureau)
Updated: 2010-04-26 11:20

The 1st Urban Development Forum of Western Straits Economic Zone was held in the National Accounting Institute of Xiamen on April 24, 2010.

Focused on changing the mode of urban development and accelerating Urban-Rural integration and coordinated development in Western Straits Economic Zone, the forum built a platform for participants to discuss new ways to improve the administration system of the towns and further the reform of land system.

Li Tie, the director of center of National Policy Reform and Development of Small Cities and Towns keynoted at the Forum.

"Carrying out the process of urbanization has become an important strategic goal in China. Accelerating the development of urbanization welcomed rare development opportunity, but faced grim challenges at the same time. Of all the challenges, the most acute one is that China has not finished the complete population transition. The urban population still includes a large number of peasant migrants who have become the main part of urbanization. Absorbing them into the urban is the important task of the future urbanization. With the rapid development of urbanization and the increasing population liquidity, the long-solidified urban-rural dual economic relations have formed established interest structure. Differences in the two sides' social welfare, public service, public administration and population management increasingly pop out. China's urbanization is faced with a wide-ranging and deep-going transformation." Li Tie said in the forum.

Some other important problems were discussed by the attendees in the forum, such as low-carbon and eco-green economy and the finance and taxation policy reform for the development of the urban.

Pei Jinjia, the deputy mayor of Xiamen City delivered the opening address on behalf of the organizers.

"As a major metropolitan center city of the Western Straits Economic Zone, currently Xiamen is accelerating the integration process both within and outside of the island, furthering the improvement of the urban environment and people's livelihood and building a harmonious society. Through this forum, we celebrate the opportunities to further improve the integration process both within and outside of the island with new thoughts and methods, and actively push forward overall development in the urban and rural areas ", Pei Jinjia said.

The 1st Urban Development Forum of Western Straits Economic Zone was jointly organized by the Small Cities and Towns Research Center of the National Development and Reform Commission, Xiamen Municipal Government and Xiamen National Accounting Institute.