China News Service, Beijing, August 28th Question: Why is the economic performance of China’s ethnic regions “bright” under the epidemic?
——Interview with Ding Sai, deputy director of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
China News Agency reporter Xing Liyu
Due to historical reasons, when the People’s Republic of China was founded, China’s ethnic regions lag far behind other regions in terms of economic development. Within the ethnic regions, there are also obvious problems of unbalanced development among each other.
After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, especially since the reform and opening up, the economic development level of China’s ethnic regions has rapidly improved. Especially in 2020, ethnic regions will overcome the impact of the new crown epidemic, continue to maintain the momentum of rapid economic development, and become the most eye-catching economic development region in China.
Ding Sai, deputy director of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency “East and West Questions” to review and analyze the history, current situation and characteristics of the economic development of ethnic regions in China.
The summary of the interview record is as follows:
China News Agency reporter: In the early days of the founding of New China, what was the state of economic development in China’s ethnic regions?
Ding Sai: In the early days of the founding of New China, if divided by different stages of social development, about 600,000 ethnic minorities were in primitive society, and 1 million were still in slave society. Ethnic areas are mostly mountainous areas, with harsh natural conditions, large areas and sparsely populated areas, and ethnic minorities live scattered. Due to inconvenient transportation and distance from economic development areas, these areas have historically been in a regional closed state.
Under such an island-like living environment, ethnic regions lack the exchange of ideas, technology, and resources with the outside world, and have been stagnant in primitive agriculture and animal husbandry for a long time, without industry, let alone the development of the tertiary industry. In the early days of the founding of New China, the central government began to devote itself to developing transportation and helping ethnic regions develop industry, thereby changing the long-term backward economic outlook of ethnic regions.
China News Agency reporter: After the founding of New China, especially after the reform and opening up, what measures did China take to promote the economic development of ethnic regions?
Ding Sai: From the establishment of New China to the beginning of reform and opening up, the Communist Party of China and the Chinese government are committed to implementing the system of ethnic equality and ethnic regional autonomy in ethnic areas. Zhou Enlai once pointed out that if ethnic minorities do not develop economically, then it is not true equality.
Through democratic reform and socialist transformation in ethnic areas, third-line construction, and formulation of economic development policies that favor ethnic areas, the state has enabled ethnic minorities to receive more care in the motherland family, and it has also effectively accelerated the economic development of ethnic areas.
In terms of funding, from the beginning of reform and opening up to the end of the 20th century, the state successively introduced policies to support ethnic regions in terms of funds. Such as the establishment of subsidies for border construction projects in 1977; the formulation and implementation of the “Frontier Construction Plan (Draft)” in 1979, proposed to arrange border construction funds of 40 billion yuan (RMB, the same below) within 8 years; in the same year, the counterpart support policy was determined: Beijing supports Inner Mongolia , Hebei supports Guizhou, Jiangsu supports Guangxi and Xinjiang, Shandong supports Qinghai, Shanghai supports Yunnan and Ningxia, and the whole country supports Tibet. In 1980, a fund was established to support the development of economically underdeveloped areas; in 1987, 27 poverty-stricken counties in pastoral areas were identified as key national support, and special discount loans for poverty alleviation in pastoral areas were established; Guizhou, Yunnan, Qinghai and other provinces have implemented a fixed subsidy system with an annual increase of 10%.
Data map: Relying on the collaboration of Minning and Ningxia, migrant workers from Xihaigu, Ningxia were able to work in Fujian.
As the country’s economic strength increased substantially, the state established the “Food and Clothing Fund for Impoverished Ethnic Minority Areas” in 1990, focusing on supporting 141 impoverished ethnic minority counties; in 1992, it established an ethnic minority development fund and implemented the border opening strategy in the same year. In 1994, following the process of opening up mineral resources in ethnic areas, the state increased the proportion of mineral resources compensation fees in relevant ethnic autonomous regions. In 1996, the State Council determined that 15 developed eastern provinces and cities would assist 11 western provinces and autonomous regions.
In terms of strategic support, in the 21st century, the state has formulated and implemented a strategy for the development of the western region, activities to rejuvenate the border and enrich the people, and support the development of ethnic minorities in ethnic areas; As the main battlefield for tackling tough problems, the central government will use the power of the whole country to help ethnic areas overcome poverty alleviation. 2020 will usher in a new era of development actions to promote the development of the western region and form a new pattern.
Most of the 12 provincial-level regions included in the Western Development Strategy are areas inhabited by ethnic minorities that implement the system of regional ethnic autonomy. In addition, ethnic autonomous areas (autonomous prefectures, autonomous counties) distributed in inland regions such as Northeast, Central South, Southwest, and North China also enjoy the western development policy due to their western characteristics in terms of economic and social development. In the process of advancing and implementing this strategy, the economic growth of ethnic autonomous areas is higher than the national average.
China News Agency reporter: In addition to the above-mentioned financial and strategic support, what other targeted support measures does China have for ethnic areas?
Ding Sai: China has a vast territory and a long border. The land borders 14 countries and the border is 22,000 kilometers long, of which 19,000 kilometers are in ethnic areas. The minority population is close to half, and there are more than 30 ethnic groups adjacent to the same ethnic group in neighboring countries. And home. In view of the important strategic position and particularity of border areas, the state has successively implemented the “Eleventh Five-Year”, “Twelfth Five-Year” and “13th Five-Year” action plans to rejuvenate the border and enrich the people. The infrastructure conditions in the border areas have been significantly improved, the people’s living standards have been significantly improved, social undertakings such as education, culture, and health have made progress in an all-round way, and the level of opening up to the outside world has continued to increase.
Data map: The opening of the “Egret School” in Ulanchabu, Inner Mongolia, can not only improve the quality of education in the old revolutionary base of the Xing’an League, but also provide good education to poor students, rural subsistence allowance students, and urban subsistence allowance students. help.Photo by Shi Jiaming
For ethnic groups with a small population, China issued the “Support for the Development of Ethnic Groups with a Small Population (2005-2010)” in 2005, targeting 22 ethnic minorities with a population of less than 100,000, which generally have low economic development levels and poor production and living conditions. , Poverty is more prominent and the development of social undertakings is lagging behind and other practical problems. In the six years since its implementation, the state has invested a total of 3.751 billion yuan in various funds and implemented 11,168 projects. New historical changes have taken place in the lives of ethnic groups with a small population. The core goals of the “Plan for Supporting the Development of Ethnic Groups with Small Populations (2011-2015)” and “The 13th Five-Year Plan for Promoting the Development of Ethnic Regions and Ethnic Groups with Small Populations” are to ensure that ethnic groups with small populations will be synchronized with the whole country by 2020. Build a well-off society in an all-round way.
Reporter from China News Service: Since the founding of New China, the state has continuously adopted the above-mentioned various measures to promote development in ethnic areas. What is the effect?
Ding Sai: Taking eight ethnic provinces and regions (Note: Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Tibet Autonomous Region, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and the three provinces of Guizhou, Yunnan, and Qinghai, where the minority population is relatively concentrated in China) For example, its total GDP has increased from 5.789 billion yuan in 1978 to 10.47 trillion yuan in 2020, an increase of 732 times after deducting price factors, and its share of national GDP has risen from 1.6% in 1978 to 10.3% in 2020. The GDP growth rate of the eight ethnic provinces and autonomous regions has exceeded the national average GDP growth rate for consecutive years since 1997.
Data map: Workers in the “women’s poverty alleviation workshop” in Linxia City, Gansu Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture rush to make sports shoes.Photo by Wei Jianjun
Among the eight ethnic provinces and regions, the GDP growth rate of the six provinces and regions except Inner Mongolia and Qinghai in 2020 is higher than the national GDP growth rate of 2.3%. The growth rate of Tibet Autonomous Region is 7.8%, the growth rate of Guizhou is 4.5%, and the growth rate of Yunnan is 4.5%. The growth rate was 4%, Ningxia was 3.9%, Guangxi was 3.7%, and Xinjiang was 3.4%.
In 2021, China will achieve a comprehensive victory in the fight against poverty, resolve overall regional poverty, complete the arduous task of eradicating absolute poverty, and realize the firm promise of “no one can be left on the road to poverty alleviation, and no nation can be less.”
Reporter from China News Service: In Europe, the United States and other countries, are there areas with relatively small populations where ethnic groups live relatively? What is the economic development status of these regions in the relevant countries? What are the similarities and differences with China in terms of economic policies and regional development?
Ding Sai: Take the United States as an example. Indians are native Americans and their poverty incidence has always been high. In 2000, among the 10 settlements with the highest concentration of Indians in the United States, the incidence of poverty among Indians in the Indian settlements of South Dakota was 53.5%, the first among the 10 settlements; Indians in the San Carlos Indian Reservation in Arizona were poor. The incidence rate was 50.8%. The incidence of poverty among Indians in the Tohono O’odham Indian Reservation was 46.4%; in the Navajo Nation settlement on the border of Arizona, New Mexico and Utah, the incidence of poverty among Indians was 42.9%; in Utah The Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation’s poverty incidence rate for Indians is 20.2%, which is already the lowest incidence of poverty in the settlement area. In the same year, the incidence of poverty in the United States was only 12.4%. In 2011, the incidence of poverty in the United States was 14.3%, while the incidence of poverty among Indians was 26.4%, which is not only higher than the average level, but also higher than the incidence of black poverty of 25.8%.
When it comes to the poverty problem in the Indian settlements mentioned above, people from all walks of life in the United States usually think that the causes are personal alcohol abuse, community corruption, high dropout rate, remoteness, economic backwardness, and lack of employment opportunities. Statistics show that the average employment rate of Indians from 2009 to 2011 was 64.7%, which was 13.4 percentage points lower than that of whites.
In order to solve the poverty problem of Indians, the US government has also issued some policies aimed at employment, education, and support for local economic development, but these policies are very limited. Compared with the United States, China’s ethnic regions, especially the deeply impoverished “three regions and three states”, have formed a coordinated poverty alleviation in many aspects, such as policy poverty alleviation, special poverty alleviation, industry poverty alleviation, financial poverty alleviation, poverty alleviation, and infrastructure poverty alleviation. In terms of industry, employment, ecology, education, health, social security and other aspects related to poverty-stricken families and individuals, in-depth implementation of poverty alleviation projects to carry out poverty alleviation work. In particular, it has made solid progress in consolidating the results of poverty alleviation, effectively reducing the risk of returning to poverty, preventing new poverty risks that may occur, implementing the follow-up work of the relocation work, enhancing the endogenous motivation and self-development capabilities of the poor, and constantly improving through new measures The ability of sustainable development in poverty-stricken areas has embarked on a path of poverty reduction with Chinese characteristics that is unmatched by other countries. (over)
About the Author:
Ding Sai, deputy director and researcher of the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Secretary-General of the China Federation of Ethnic Studies, Executive Vice President of the World Association of Ethnic Studies, Vice President of the Southwest Ethnic Studies Association, and Editor-in-Chief of “International Journal of Anthropology and Ethnology”. Mainly engaged in the economic research of ethnic minorities, the main research areas are economic development and income distribution in ethnic regions. Currently published in “Chinese Social Sciences”, “Economic Research”, “Ethnic Studies”, “Economics (Quarterly)”, “The China Quarterly”, “China Economic Review”, “Review of Income and Wealth”, “Feminist Economics” , “The Review of Black Political Economy”, “Review of Disability Studies: An International Journal” and other Chinese and foreign academic journals have published many papers, which have a high academic reputation.
.