Countries and Regions

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p. 5 of 21 BACK | NEXT I. Country Performance Assessment A. Economic Performance Assessment B. Policy and Development Issues C. Poverty Assessment D. Assessment of Socio-Environmental Performance E. Governance: Sound Development Management F. Implementation Assessment II. Country Operational Strategy III. Sector Strategies IV. Subregional Economic Cooperation V. Donor Activities and Aid Coordination VI. Cofinancing and Catalyzing External Resources VII. ADB’s Operational Program VIII. Economic and Sector Work Program IX. Local Cost Financing

Country Assistance Plans - People's Republic of China : I. Country Performance Assessment

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D. Assessment of Socio-Environmental Performance

1. Gender Issues

24. Women account for 49 percent of the PRC’s population. PRC has made continued efforts to improve the health, education, economic, legal and social status of women. There is PRC has a commendable policy/legal framework in place to promote and protect the rights of women. The rights of women are entrenched in a variety of laws covering marriage, compulsory education, inheritance, maternal and child health care, employment, and adoption. In 1995, the PRC Ggovernment adopted promulgated a program for women development the “Chinese Women’s Development Program (1995-2000)”.

25. At about 75 percent, PRC has one of the highest female labor participation rates in the world. Wage rewards for women for to productivity-related characteristics, such as education and experience, have increased as the PRC’s market oriented reforms have progressed. PRC’s other gender equality indicators such as female life expectancy and enrollment rates of girls at various educational levels also compare favorably with other countries at a similar stage of development.

26. While the transition to a market economy has had many clear benefits for women, the adoption of market-oriented reforms has also resulted in some gender inequality. The rapid diversification of both on and off farm employment opportunities is also shifting the traditional division of labor between men and women. There have been also reports in the PRC media of women farmers being deprived of equal rights to contract land.

27. Since 1995, poverty alleviation has attracted public attention in PRC. Local women’s groups, government departments and international organizations have helped rural women out of poverty by teaching advanced farming skills and providing them small loans. However, most poverty-alleviation projects in PRC do not separate women from men nor provides special support to women.

2. Human Development

28. Using the United Nations Human Development Index, PRC ranked 99th out of 174 countries in 1998. PRC’s commendable progress in social development since 1978 reflects: (i) the rapid economic growth that has been remarkably pro-poor; and (ii) the increased budgetary allocation to the social sectors, with spending estimated at Y10 billion per annum. On some indicators of quality of life such as life expectancy, under-five mortality, and access to safe water, PRC has reached the level of middle income countries. On other indicators such as the absolute level of deprivation, income inequality, literacy/educational attainment, and the incidence of preventable diseases, PRC’s performance is better than many middle income countries. However, in terms of indicators such as maternal mortality rate, child malnutrition, and access to sanitation (especially in poor areas), PRC’s performance is less impressive.

29. Social sector expenditures, including health and education, continue to rise more rapidly than total Government expenditures. As a percentage of GDP, PRC’s social sector expenditure compares well to other countries in the Region, most of which have higher per capita incomes. At 2.6 percent of GDP, PRC’s education expenditures are higher than Indonesia and the Philippines but is lower than Malaysia, the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Singapore. At 2.1 percent of GDP, PRC’s health expenditures are lower than in the Republic of Korea, it is higher than Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia. Despite this level of expenditures, the provision of health services in rural areas has deteriorated.

30. Under its program of education for all, the Government plans to extend universal primary education to the rural and minorities areas. Vocational and technical education are being reformed and strengthened in line with the needs of a market economy. However, PRC has a low participation rate in higher education (particularly at the university level) compared to most other countries in Asia. This is causing a shortage of skilled labor in key sectors of economy (e.g. finance, auditing, accounting and information technology). In response, the Government has continued to reform the overall structure of education to is introducinge a nine-year compulsory education program and taking steps to increase higher education enrolment. substantially.

22. The low level of education achieved by the labor force as a whole is a constraint on economic development, especially on shifting resources towards higher technology sectors. This is compounded by the growing unemployment problem. In addition to social security and other programs to ensure minimum income levels and access to basic services for disabled workers,

3. Environment

31. PRC experiences severe air, water and solid waste pollution in most cities and natural resources degradation in rural areas, which threatens PRC’s sustainable development. The Government has become increasingly aware that the environmental stability is critical to sustainable development, and poverty reduction. Addressing these problems is now a priority for the Government. In recent years, with assistance from ADB, PRC has initiated a comprehensive program of improving the legal and regulatory framework for environmental management, including the revision of the Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law, preparation of the new Land Administration Law, and the revision of the Penal Code relating to environmental crime. The State Council approved a comprehensive environmental plan in support of PRC’s Agenda 21, Tthe main features of PRC’s Agenda 21 which are to: (i) enforceing a total load control policy to maintain the total pollution load from industries within the 1995 levels in spite of rapid industrial growth; (ii) increaseing the pollution levies to equal or exceed the waste treatment cost; (iii) increaseing the use of market-based economic and financial instruments; (iv) promoteing the use of clean production technology; and (v) adopting a comprehensive master plan of environmental projects commonly called the Trans-Century Green Program.

32. As part of the Government’s efforts to strengthen the environmental legislation, regulations and enforcement, the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Act was amended in April 2000. The State Council and local governments at all levels are now required to incorporate atmospheric protection in economic and social development plans. The April 2000 Amendments promote the use of cleaner production through the use of more efficient processes, use of clean fuel such as low sulfur coal and natural gas, and reuse of waste materials by controlling the quantity of pollutant discharge per unit of production. The Amendments also include a chapter on the control of automobile emissions and provide a legal basis for the implementation of emission trading on a trial basis. Increasingly, market-based incentives are being used to complement administrative measures to encourage environmentally friendly behavior. Future priorities to strengthen the environmental legal framework include drafting laws related to evaluating environment changes, clean production, preventing sandstorms and desertification and controlling pollution from radio-active substances. There is also a recognition on the need to develop a law on the comprehensive utilization of natural resources.

33. During the Ninth Five-Year Plan (NFYP) Period, The total investment for environment in the first four years (1996-1999) of the Ninth Five-Year Plan (NFYP)NFYP was equivalent to about 0.9 percent of GDP. In 1999, total environmental investment for the first time reached 1 percent of GDP (82 billion yuan).⁴ Key priorities listed in the draft TFYP for environmental protection include: (i) utilizing market based instruments to promote cleaner production and enforcement of environmental regulations; (ii) strengthening the key institutions for environmental management; (iii) promoting sustainable development in agriculture, urban planning and industries; (iv) promoting natural resources conservation and ecological protection; (v) according priority to transboundary and global environmental issues.

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