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President Chino Opens Resident Mission In People's Republic of China

Minister of Finance Xiang Huaicheng of the People's Republic of China and Asian Development Bank President Tadao Chino hosted the opening ceremony of the ADB's resident mission in Beijing today. The formal opening was held at the Great Hall of the People.

ADB President Tadao Chino said: "The opening of this office marks the beginning of a new era in cooperation between ADB and China. It will strengthen our partnerships with the government, other donor agencies, the private sector and civil society. It will enable ADB to provide better services to PRC, which makes excellent use of our loans. ADB plans to lend China about US$3.5 billion over the next three years."

The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank owned by 58 member governments. Its main goal is to reduce poverty by promoting economic and social progress in the Asia-Pacific region. ADB's strengths lie in its work on policy reform, the social sectors, environmental protection and regional cooperation.

The People's Republic of China (PRC) is one of ADB's largest clients, borrowing more than US$1 billion annually. Since joining the ADB in 1986, the PRC has borrowed nearly $10 billion to help finance key development projects.

The ADB has been particularly active in supporting the Government's efforts to clean up the environment, improve water supply and wastewater treatment in urban areas and develop the transport sector. "To help reduce poverty, ADB has channeled more than two thirds of our assistance to the poorer, inland provinces," notes Bruce Murray, ADB's Resident Representative in Beijing.

In earlier years, ADB assistance focused on infrastructure. Among its notable projects are the world-class Yangpu and Nanpu bridges, which have become symbols of Shanghai. ADB also financed 2,468 kms of roads, including the expressways from Beijing through Shenyang and Changchun to Harbin, and 4,284 km of railways, including the Jingjiu Railway from Beijing to Kowloon. The 2,530 km Jingjiu railway has improved the lives of millions of people living along the route.

Today's priorities include reducing air pollution and improving water supply and wastewater treatment. At the strategic level, ADB is helping PRC to improve the legal, policy and regulatory framework for environmental protection. It has also financed urban environmental improvement projects in 12 cities, including Beijing and Qindao. Said Mr. Murray, "For example, in Xian, home of the world famous Terra Cotta Warriors, we are reducing air pollution and this will protect the ancient treasures that record over 3000 years of history. In Shanghai, we are cleaning up the Suzhou Creek to turn it from a black, stinking river into one in which marine life will once again thrive."

Another priority is helping the Government develop the private sector to create the jobs necessary to absorb redundant workers from state-owned enterprises. This work includes improving the legal framework to create a level playing field, setting out the rules of the game in a clear and transparent manner, and changing the regulatory framework to remove restrictions on the private sector and small and medium enterprises. ADB has helped draft the new securities law and is now working on the company law, the social security law and the bankruptcy law.

It is also helping to mobilize private sector funds to overcome infrastructure bottlenecks. ADB is both advising at policy level and providing loans to private companies for infrastructure projects. For example, in 1998 and 1999, respectively, the ADB funded the Meizhouwan Power Project and the Chengdu BOT (built, operate and transfer) Water Supply Projects, both praised as "deal of the year" by prestigious international financial publications.

To help PRC in its fight against poverty, two thirds of ADB's planned US$3.5 billion lending to PRC over the next three years will be targeted in the poor central and western provinces where most of the poor live. ADB is also helping to develop the social security system. Better pensions, health insurance and unemployment insurance are powerful weapons in the fight against urban poverty.

The PRC Resident Mission is one of the ADB's largest Resident Missions and will have an initial staff of 17 officers, including 11 PRC nationals, and up to 20 administrative staff. The Mission will include a publicly accessible information office and library.

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