Chinese cities whose economies rely largely on the exploitation of natural resources must seek a new source of development to boost the nation's growth, government officials and scholars said at an Expo Central China 2011 forum on Sept 26 in Taiyuan, Shanxi province.
Around 120 cities across China have a resource-based economy, accounting for around 18 percent of the total number of Chinese cities, according to Peng Sen, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).
A pilot economic zone was set up in coal-rich Shanxi at the end of last year to change the province's resource-based economic model.
This move "helps build a more balanced economy and diversified industries, increase production efficiency, and promote harmony between economic development and eco-friendliness", Peng said.
The province, with 94 coal-producing counties, can "set an example for other resource-dependent regions", Peng said.
Kong Jingyuan, director-general of the department of comprehensive reform of the economical system in NDRC, called for the "socialization of resource industries". This would allow all of society to "share the gift of natural resources by fair competition, so capital that focused on resources before can be shifted to other sectors, such as public service and environmental protection, which are equally important, if not more important than conventional resources sectors".
More than 12 billion tons of coal has been produced in Shanxi since the founding of the People's Republic of China in October 1949, but resource exploitation has also led to a great degradation of land and natural environment.
As a result, the province needs integrated land treatment that includes land recovery and preferential financing and taxation policies and industry planning, according to the senior economist.
Despite current problems, international cooperation provides a solution. Jerald Fletcher, a professor of energy, environmental and resource economics at West Virginia University, sees a bright future for China, as "some of the issues are indeed difficult, but definitely surmountable".
Fletcher is the director of the US-China Clean Energy Research Center, founded in November 2009. The organization conducts joint research and development on clean energy technology by teams of scientists and engineers from both countries.
"The idea was that our two countries would collaborate in the areas of building energy efficiency and clean coal, including carbon capturing and storage and clean vehicles," Fletcher said.
"It is helpful to be able to use the experience of the United States and other developed economies, because some of the research and development does not have to be done," he said.
Fletcher said issues of quality of life, environmental quality and economic growth will "dominate our discussion in the years ahead". Also, China and the US "must collaborate to figure out how to deal with these problems in the future".