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p. 7 of 46 BACK | NEXT Moving the Poverty Reduction Agenda Forward: Priorities and Outcomes Strategic Priorities Crosscutting Strategic Themes Regional Perspectives East and Central Asia Azerbaijan People's Republic of China Kazakhstan Kyrgyz Republic Mongolia Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Mekong The Pacific South Asia Southeast Asia

Annual Report 2003 : Moving the Poverty Reduction Agenda Forward: Priorities and Outcomes : East and Central Asia

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People’s Republic of China

Strategy and Policy Dialogue.
In November, ADB’s Board of Directors endorsed the CSP for 2004–2006. Four pillars underlie the new strategy: (i) promoting equitable and inclusive growth, (ii) making markets work better, (iii) fostering regional cooperation, and (iv) promoting environmental sustainability. Over 80% of lending is expected to be for projects located in the central and western regions where most of the poor live.

ADB and the PRC signed a poverty partnership agreement (PPA) in September 2003 that set out a development agenda based on propoor investments in infrastructure, private sector development, environment, and regional cooperation. It is closely allied to the PRC’s national development plan and poverty reduction strategy and is aligned with its medium-term planning and public investment cycle. The PPA was reflected in the new CSP.

The PRC Resident Mission has increased ADB’s dialogue with the private sector and civil society and has expanded ADB’s partnership arrangements with other development partners through regular donor coordination meetings. Accomplishments in 2003 included applying the country programming framework for the PRC-Global Environment Facility partnership on Operational Program 12, implementing the Poverty Reduction Cooperation Fund, preparing a provincial partnership agreement with the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom, and cofinancing Greater Mekong Subregion projects in Yunnan Province with the Agence Française Développement.

Several important policy studies were completed or nearly completed in 2003 including an assessment of governance, a poverty profile, a private sector assessment, and an agriculture and rural development strategy. Several policy notes covering trends in external trade showing the PRC’s positive impact on the region, the economic impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), preventing investment overheating, and establishing a minimum living standard system in rural areas to address absolute rural poverty were submitted to appropriate government offices.

Weaknesses in the financial sector represent one of the strategic risks facing the PRC. ADB is helping strengthen the legal/regulatory framework for banks under technical assistance on PRC banking laws and regulations. Advice was provided on anti-money laundering, including comments on the three rules for banking-type financial institutions adopted by the People’s Bank of China.

Technical assistance further supported work that culminated in the amendment of the Central Banking and Commercial Banking laws, and the formulation of the Bank Supervision Law, all of which were adopted in December. These laws addressed issues raised by technical assistance. Recommendations were also made for laws and regulations regarding credit information bureaus, financial conglomerates, and bank insolvency.

Other milestones in ADB’s support for strengthening the rule of law in 2003 included the passage of the Administrative Licensing Law and making effective the ADB-supported Regulations on the Legal Aid System, the Law on Promoting Small and Medium Enterprises, the Government Procurement Law, and the Clean Production Law.

At the sector level, the study completed in 2003 on Project Cost Estimates and Loan Savings provided recommendations to improve estimates and monitoring of costs during project implementation.

Loans and Technical Assistance.
Seven loans totaling $1,488 million were approved to improve water supply capacity in Harbin, to improve wastewater management in Wuhan, to construct roads in Ningxia and western Yunnan, to improve urban transport capacity in Xi’an, to build a railway connecting Yichang and Wanzhou, and to promote clean energy development in Gansu. In addition, 26 technical assistance projects totaling $14.3 million were approved.

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