Guangdong governor Lu Ruihua has identified development of the province's poor hinterland as his most pressing priority as he seeks to build on Guangdong's two decades of rapid economic growth.
China's richest province had grown at an average 13.8 per cent a year since 1978 but the statistics mask a stark development gap between the Pearl River Delta and the poorer northern regions.
In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Mr Lu said: 'I envision that in 20 years the level of development in Guangdong will be on a par with middle-ranking developed countries . . . and in 50 years we will rank among the world's developed regions.'
He thought the current level of development in the Pearl River Delta to be comparable with that of the United States and Western Europe in the 1960s.
'But we still have a long way to go to improve the situation in the northern part of the province,' he said.
Mr Lu credited the role played by Hong Kong in the development of the Pearl River Delta and the province.
'Hong Kong has always served an important bridging role,' he said.
'In turn Guangdong's growth has backed up Hong Kong . . . we expect even closer co-operation with Hong Kong after China enters the World Trade Organisation.'
Mr Lu predicted Guangdong's gross domestic product growth would reach 10.5 per cent this year (compared with 9.4 per cent last year) before settling into a slower but steadier of 8 to 9 per cent during the Tenth Five-Year Plan (2001-2005).
Mr Lu also criticised 'excessive media comments' concerning the bankruptcy of Guangdong International Trust and Investment Corporation (Gitic) in January last year.
'This kind of thing is common yet it caused a big fuss in the media,' he said.
Gitic was closed with debts amounting to almost US$4.7 billion and creditors are likely to get back only about 20 per cent of their original claims.
The liquidation committee and courts have recognised only about half of creditors' claims on Gitic as valid.
Last week, creditors approved the first repayment of the company's debts amounting to 731 million yuan - just 3.4 per cent of its recognised debt.
'Gitic's closure was a painful lesson. But it was also a necessary one,' Mr Lu said. He refused to say when the restructuring of Guangdong's trust sector would be completed, noting only that 'the problem is in the legal system and will soon be resolved'.
Mr Lu would also not be drawn on how many provincial trust companies would be left when the dust cleared: 'We're still figuring that out.'
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