Building South Asia Trade Corridor, Advancing Border Development

　　Baiman Yang-Zom （China）

　　Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:

　　Good morning / Good afternoon

　　Welcome to this year’s China Tibet Development Forum. I would like to share with you some information on Tibet’s economic development in the following three areas.

　　First, Tibet has made remarkable progress in its economic development

　　Since the 11th Five-Year Plan first started, Tibet has made breakthroughs in pursuing an open economy by restructuring its economy and improving standards of living.

　　Foreign trade has experienced steady and relatively rapid growth. During the 11th Five-Year Plan, foreign trade in Tibet totaled $2.72 billion, which was 2.3 times more than that of the previous plan, with an annual growth rate of 32 percent. Since the beginning of the 12th Five-Year Plan, Tibet has registered an annual growth rate of 63 percent in terms of foreign trade, characterized by increased trade with bordering countries and resulting in a strong ability to improve standards of living.

　　Since the start of 11th Five-Year Plan, small-scale border trade and trade between residents living in the border areas has seen annual growth rates of 91 percent and 67 percent respectively. A number of well-established border markets have become popular among border residents who often trade goods for money. The construction of a South Asia road trade thoroughfare is under way. Tibet dedicated 68 million and 240 million yuan respectively during the 11th and 12th Five-Year Plan periods to revamping infrastructure such as the airport in Lhasa, the Gillon and Zhangmu passes, and the Yadong trade thoroughfare. These efforts help to promote foreign trade in the region. Tibet is also striving to increase inbound and outbound investment. Since the beginning of the “11th Five-Year Plan,” paid-in foreign investment in Tibet has reached $485 million, while its overseas investment totaled 67 million yuan. Tibet is heading toward a more open market with multifaceted channels of investment. Tibet has built new platforms to promote regional economic and trade growth. Since the beginning of the 11th Five-Year Plan, Tibet has held four China Tibet-Nepal economic and trade coordination committees and five China Tibet-Nepal economic and trade meetings, both of which have played an active role in promoting Tibet’s economic ties with Nepal.

　　Second, Tibet should make itself more open to both domestic and overseas investors.

　　Tibet lies in the southwest border area of China, making South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East important markets for Tibetan economic development. Under the leadership of the regional government, the commerce department has conducted careful analysis of the current situation and seized a great opportunity to build Tibet into a more open market for both domestic and overseas investors.

　　（a）our analysis of the current situation has been sound. We have established that it is of vital importance to open up Tibet in a step-by-step manner.

　　The vast Tibet Autonomous Region is adjacent to domestic autonomous regions and provinces such as Xinjiang, Qinghai, Sichuan and Yunnan, and shares a 4,000-km long border with Myanmar, India, Bhutan, and Nepal. Tibet’s strategic location gives it a unique advantage in the opening-up process. Tibet is blessed with particular industrial and market advantages, and is a gateway to South Asian nations. Tibet holds comparative advantages in capital, technology and logistics compared with neighboring South Asian nations. All of this constitutes a sound industrial cooperation platform for companies willing to set up business in the region. Tibet will make full use of domestic and international resources and markets to achieve step-change development, with Lhasa and Shigatse as centers for open economic practices.

　　(b) seizing opportunities to speed up construction of a South Asia road trade thoroughfare.

　　At present, the Central Government is promoting the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar Economic Corridor. As an important link in the southern route of the ancient Silk Road, Tibet has a golden opportunity to construct its Tibet-South Asia road trade thoroughfare. Through many years of forceful support from the country, Tibet is now better connected to neighboring provinces and countries. Gillon and Zhangmu passes and Yadong trade thoroughfare are positioned to better facilitate trade between Tibet and other regions. However, compared with other border provinces, our transportation and pass infrastructure are outdated, and border markets are plagued with poor conditions. These have restricted the pace of Tibet's development. This is why Tibet pays special attention to the construction of the South Asia road trade thoroughfare, which is expected to solidify Tibet’s opening-up efforts.

　　(c) creating a new economic system featuring innovation and stability.

　　To achieve fruitful results when pursing the opening-up of Tibet, we must be fully aware of the true meaning of an open economic system. In our view, we must streamline the administrative process, creating new management systems, encouraging free flow of resources and resource relocation, and strengthening market integration. Tibet should then promote economic and trade cooperation with neighboring countries and coordinate trade, investment, technology and human resource development, so as to optimize its economic cooperation mechanism with South Asian nations. Pilot zones should be established to enhance policy communication, road connections, trade, currency circulation, and people-to-people communication. As is well-known to all, Tibet's economic development lags far behind other provinces and regions in China and its growth needs generous support from all sides, especially the wisdom of economic experts. We will learn from positive experiences and promote innovation so as to make Tibet a more attractive place for both domestic and international investors.

　　Third, Tibet will take forceful measures to achieve step-change development.

　　The commerce department of Tibet will concentrate on the following projects to promote economic growth.

　　First, transportation infrastructure.

　　We will establish and improve the proposed South Asia road trade thoroughfare by building a comprehensive transportation network comprising railway, road, aviation and Internet. We will focus on the construction of Gillon pass, improve the capacity of Zhangmu pass, restore Yadong pass, and accelerate construction of Pulan, Riwu and Lhasa aviation passes, as well as building and revamping border markets. We will cooperate with other departments to create more favorable conditions for Tibet’s economic cooperation with South Asian nations.

　　Second, expand industries with comparative strengths.

　　Tibet will maintain its commitment to its economic development strategy, featuring more agricultural production, intensive development of key industries, and a comprehensive development of service industries. Tibet will take international demand into consideration in its signature industries such as handicraft, agricultural and livestock products, water, and Tibetan medicines. We will help to grow export-oriented industries, build up a number of demonstration bases for foreign trade, and improve our product performance in quality, technology, branding, and service. We will increase cooperation and communication with neighboring countries and identify our complementary advantages so as to further expand our economic growth. We will develop some processing business in border areas to further upgrade the quality of our foreign trade and generate revenue.

　　Third, expand cooperation with inland provinces and cities.

　　We will strengthen our strategic cooperation with developed eastern regions, increase communication with central and western regions, participate in regional cooperation initiatives, and promote the exchange of products, information, capital, technology and human resources with inland provinces. We will further promote private investment, improve infrastructure construction to facilitate trade in goods and services, and safeguard production, services, transportation, imports and exports so as to improve standards of living and quality of life.

　　Fourth, build sound economic cooperation platforms.

　　We will strive to expand the brand influence of the China Tibet-Nepal economic and trade meeting. Infrastructure for a range of industrial parks will be promoted to increase their capacity and number. We will also try to implement opening-up policy in industrial parks where conditions permit. It is of vital importance for us to establish economic cooperation zones with neighboring provinces and countries to speed up our own growth.

　　Fifth, promote the strategy to make Tibet into an economically more open region.

　　Tibet will be actively involved in the nationwide campaign of building a more open economy. The commerce department will focus on building the South Asia road trade thoroughfare, improving infrastructure at its various passes, establishing a comprehensive modern logistics system, and upgrading economic cooperation with neighboring regions. We will also make every effort to promote investment in agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, and financial services. We will establish a multifaceted trade cooperation mechanism to improve the investment environment in Tibet.

　　Ladies and gentlemen, we understand it is not an easy task to grow the Tibetan economy. But we will do our best to achieve step-change development for Tibet and to build Tibet into a more desirable place to live. It is also our hope that all panelists will continue to make a contribution to Tibetan economic development by providing us with further plans and proposals.

　　Thank you very much!

　　（Baiman Yang-Zom，Deputy Director-General of Department of Commerce, Tibet Autonomous Region）