Chongqing is revving up efforts to advance new countryside construction, with a special focus on developing the rural economy and increasing incomes of rural residents, a recent work meeting of the municipal government revealed.

With around 80 percent of the total population living in rural areas, the traditional city is haunted by the chronic problem of trying to seek a balance between urban and rural economies.

Over years of development, Chongqing has maintained a robust industrial growth momentum.

The substantial progress in industry is in turn expected to provide strong support for agricultural development.

The priority for the authorities is to strengthen the rural economy and advance countryside construction, and Chongqing seeks to achieve a breakthrough in these fields this year.

To this end, the municipal government has vowed to create more jobs for rural laborers.

Therefore, developing the service industry is high on the government's agenda. Characterized as being labor-intensive, the service sector is expected to absorb the inflow of rural workers.

Meanwhile, the authorities have intensified construction of infrastructure facilities and the extension of a transportation network in order to facilitate commercial exchange.

With a convenient transportation system, rural residents will be able to benefit from increasing interaction with urban areas.

Local governments will also pay more attention to addressing the growth imbalance between various parts of Chongqing this year, accelerating the development of the Three-Gorges Reservoir Area and the relatively underdeveloped southeastern region of the city.

Big projects in industry, tourism, creative industry, infrastructure construction and technology innovation are expected to play a leading role in boosting the growth of the local economy and are thus supported by the municipal government.

In addition, booming private-invested business, which is an active force in the local economy and hence offers rural residents with another means of increasing revenue, is capturing growing attention.

(China Daily 03/29/2007 page18)