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Manila (AFP) Sep 20, 2006 The Asian Development Bank will lend China three billion dollars over the next two years with the farm and energy sectors becoming the new focal points, the Philippines-based lender said Wednesday. The bank will maintain its focus on projects for the poorer central and western provinces, but the proportion of loans to agriculture and natural resources projects will more than double from 10 percent to 25 percent, the ADB said in a statement. Social infrastructure sector loans will rise to 23 percent, compared to 10 percent in the 2004-2006 ADB lending program, it added. Transportation, the historical focus of ADB lending to China, will get 41 percent of the total, but this will be down from a 59 percent in 2005. The remaining 11 percent will go to energy projects. "ADBs future operations in the (People's Republic of China) will emphasize rural development, environment, energy conservation, urban development, and regional cooperation, in line with the country's 11th Five-Year Program for 2006-2010," said ADB country director Toru Shibuichi. The bank said China has made remarkable progress in reducing poverty, with the number of rural poor falling from about 250 million in 1978 to about 23.7 million in 2005. More targeted and innovative approaches, however, are needed to work on pockets of persistent absolute poverty, the vulnerability of a large population living on the brink of poverty, and new manifestations of urban poverty, the bank said. China also needs "dramatic improvements" to meet UN Millennium Development Goal targets for maternal health and primary education, specifically gender equity, environmental sustainability, child mortality, HIV/AIDS, and access to safe drinking water and sanitation. The bank said it also plans to extend 23.6 million dollars in technical assistance grants to China in 2007-2008 for policy and institutional reforms, legal reforms and governance, training, and project preparation. As of end-2005, ADB has approved 16.24 billion dollars for 115 loans and 257.1 million dollars for 483 technical assistance grants to China.
Source: Agence France-Presse Related Links The latest farming technology and science news
China Rejects Claims Of GM Rice Entering EU Foods
Beijing (AFP) Sep 07, 2006China Thursday rejected claims by western environmental groups that its genetically modified rice had entered the European market, saying it has not been approved for commercial production. The European Commission urged member states this week to intensify controls on genetically modified foods out of fear they might contain an illegal GM product that Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth said came from China. |
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