Xinjiang
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Elevation: 7,435-- -155 meters Natural resources Land Monitoring and surveys conducted on 60 key sections of 40 major rivers, seven lakes and reservoirs in Xinjiang showed that the quality of water was good in most of the rivers, lakes, and reservoirs. The quality of water in 92.4 percent of the surveyed 5,195-kilometer river courses reached or was better than the criteria of the class-three surface water environmental requirement, and only 7.6 percent of the length of the said river courses was polluted. In 1999, the air pollutants in Xinjiang were a mixture of fine sand in the air and smoke from burning coal. There was no marked difference in the degree of pollution as compared with that of the previous year. The source of pollution during the heating season mainly came from smoke dust and the source of pollution out of the heating season mainly was fine sand flying in the air. The principal pollutants were total suspended granules, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxide. There was a worsening tendency in the pollution of nitrogen oxide with the rapid increase of motor vehicles. The volume of discharged smoke dust and industrial dust was 243,900 tons and 120,400 tons, dropping by 4.4 percent and 18.9 percent respectively when compared with the 1998 figures. The volume of discharged sulfur dioxide was 337,100 tons, virtually remaining the same as that of 1998. The discharge of smoke dust from daily life was 118,500 tons and the discharge of sulfur dioxide from daily life, 139,200 tons. The proportion of the volume of daily-life pollutant discharge in the total pollutant discharge was on the increase when compared with that of 1998. The monitoring of the air quality conducted in 16 cities revealed that the daily value of total suspended granules averaged 0.434 milligrams per cubic meter (0.341 milligrams per cubic meter in the cities in northern Xinjiang and 0.639 milligrams per cubic meter in the cities in southern Xinjiang), an increase of 0.03 milligrams per cubic meter over that of the previous year; that of sulfur dioxide, 0.024 milligrams per cubic meter; and that of nitrogen oxide, 0.036 milligrams per cubic meter, remaining more or less the same when compared with that of the previous year. Urumqi remained as the most serious-polluted city while Karamay was the city with the best air quality. In Urumqi, the average daily value of the total suspended granules was 0.463 milligrams per cubic meter, a drop of 0.039 milligrams per cubic meter as compared with that of the previous year; that of sulfur dioxide, 0.146 milligrams per cubic meter, an increase of 0.042 milligrams per cubic meter as compared with that of the previous year; and that of nitrogen oxide, 0.092 milligrams per cubic meter, an increase of 0.006 milligrams per cubic meter as compared with that of the previous year. According to the state??s ??Control over the Total Volume of Pollutant Discharge?? and ??Plan of the Trans-Century Greening Project,?? by the end of the year 2000, the pollutants discharged from all the industrial pollution sources in Xinjiang are required to meet the national and local standards, the environmental air and underground water environmental quality in different domains should be up to the relevant requirements as stipulated in the state regulations, and the deterioration of the ecosystem (ecocide) along the green corridor in the Tarim River valley should be brought under control. In the above said cities, 189 square kilometers of smoke dust control areas have been set up and 167 square kilometers have reached the requirements of noise control, accounting for 53percent and 47percent of the established urban areas in these cities.
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II. Population
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Population growth rate: 1.28 percent (1998) Life expectancy (average) Literacy At the end of 1998, there were 7,100 primary schools, more than 100 polytechnic schools, and 18 colleges and university with a teaching staff of 180,000. In 1998, 276 graduate students were admitted into the colleges, university, and research institutes, an increase of 18percent over 1997. The number of graduate students studying in school was 747, an increase of 15.5percent over the figure of 1997. There were 775,200 students in regular junior high schools, an increase of 9.5 percent over that of 1997; 2,502,700 primary school students, an increase of 3.4 percent; students in adult-educational colleges and universities, an increase of 5.19 percent; 822.62 million students in and 230.9 million graduates from polytechnic schools; and 46,717 students in and 11,228 graduates from colleges and university. In 1998, 96,500 people got rid of illiteracy, an increase of 35.7 percent, and the percentage of illiterate and semi-illiterate people among the people at the age of 15 and over was 11.4.
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III. Economy
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GDP growth rate:
Poverty-alleviation plan
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IV.
Telecommunications
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V.
Transportation
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Railways The project to quicken train speed on the Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway, one of the major projects in China??s third drive to upgrade train speed, is expected to be completed by October 1, 2000. The Lanzhou-Xinjiang Railway, which extends more 2,000 kilometers from Lanzhou City in Gansu Province in the east to the Alataw Pass, the westernmost point on the Chinese section of the second Eurasian Bridge, is an artery linking China??s west and east and the only railroad leading from Xinjiang to the rest of China. The dual-track route of the Lanzhou-Urumqi Railroad has been open to traffic. Construction of the Korla-Kashi section of the Southern Xinjiang Railroad, also a major project, is in full swing. An investment of 2.4 billion yuan has been completed in the westward extension project of the Southern Xinjiang Railroad. On December 29, 1998, tracks were laid to Xiggar. A total of 826.9 kilometers of tracks were laid, 101 kilometers more than that in the annual plan. On December 1, 1998, the Korla-Aksu section was put into trial operation. In 1998, the Urumqi Railway Bureau transported 29.142 million tons of freight, increasing 3.9 percent over that in the previous year.Highways Highways now reach 99 percent towns and villages in all counties and prefectures. A road-transportation network comprising seven national highways and 62 regional main highways links Urumqi with Gansu and QingHai provinces in the east, the Tibet Autonomous Region in the south, and Central Asian counties in the west. In 1998, the length of major highways open to traffic reached 32,701 kilometers. Waterways Seasonal steamers and barges can sail on the Ili and Ertix rivers. Airports
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VI.
Projects wanting foreign investment
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VII.
Favorable policies for foreign investment
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???? ???? After determining the focal point in attracting foreign investment for the year 2000, Xinjiang will take the opportunity in China??s drive to develop its central and western regions and bring into full play of the preferential policies granted by the state. People at the local planning department will pay close attention to the process of negotiations on China??s accession to the World Trade Organization and work out measures to be adopted by the government of the autonomous region after China??s entry into the WTO. Preferential policies for foreign investment Measures
of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region to Encourage Foreign Investment (for
trial implementation) Article 3: Foreign investors may adopt the following means of investment according to law: 1). To establish wholly foreign-owned enterprises, joint ventures, and cooperative enterprises.2). To participate in or hold shares of or purchase, contract to run, or run under lease state-owned, collective-owned, or private-operated enterprises or enterprises with other ownerships. 3). To engage in processing trade items. 4). To engage in building-operating-transfering (BOT) ??without recourse?? fund-raising projects. 5). To make other modes of investment permitted by the laws, decrees, regulations, and policies. 2). The construction of such basic industries and facilities as water conservation, energy sources, and transportation. 3). Textles and light industry: Finish touch and processing of leather products; high-grade simulated chemical fabrics; fabric dyeing, printing, and finish touches; and commercial paper pulp production. 4). Chemical industry: Petrochemicals, agricultural chemicals, and fine chemicals. 5). The prospection and expoitation of metal and non-metal minerals. 6). Building material industry: New-type and energy-saving building materials. 7). New-type industries: New materials, bioengineering technologies, development of energy-saving technologies, technologies for resource regeneration and comprehensive utilization, and environmental pollution control projects and control technologies. 2). Foreign-funded productive enterprises established in the development zones with approval by the State Council shall be levied the income tax of foreign-funded and foreign enterpries (hereinafter called business tax for short) according to a reduced tax rate of 15 percent. Foreign-funded productive enterprises established in the development zones with approval by the government of the autonomous region shall be levied according to the statutory tarrif. The portion exceeding the stipulated15 percent may be first collected and then returned by the local finance department according to relevant regulations. Foreign-funded enterprises with an operational period more than ten years may enjoy exemption from the business income tax for the first two years beginning with the profit-making year and a reduction of half of the business income tax for the third, fourth and fifth years. The portion of tarrif levied beyond 10 percent on those established in the development zones with approval by the government of the autonomous region may be first collected and then returned by the local finance department according to relevant regutions. 3). Foreign-funded productive enterprises set up in the cities opening to the outisde world (Urumqi, Yining, Tacheng, and Bole) with approval by the State Council shall be entitled to a reduction of the business income tax and levied at a tarrif of 24 percent. Foreign-funded enterprises established in other places of Xinjiang belonging to the categories whose operation is encouraged according to the Measures shall be levied according to the statutory tax rate. The portion exceeding 24 percent shall be first collected and then returned by the local finance department. Those with an operational period more than ten years may enjoy an exemption from the business income tax for the first two profit-making years and a reduction of half of the business income tax for the third through the fifth profit-making year. 4). Foreign-funded enterprises engaged in the development of energy sources (exclusive the exploitation of oil and natural gas) and transportation (exclusive passenger transport) in the cities opening to the outside world (Urumqi, Yining, Tacheng, and Bole) with approval by the State Council shall be levied the business income tax at a rate of 15 percent of their productivity. The portion beyond 15 percent shall be first collected and then returned by the local finance department according to relevant regulations. Those whose operational period is more than ten years may enjoy exemption from the business income tax for the first two years beginning the profit-making year and a reduction of half of the business income tax for the third through the fifth profit-making year. From the sixth to the tenth year, the local finance department shall first collect the business income tax and then return 50 percent of the collected amount according to relevant regulations. 5). Foreign investors of the foreign-funded enterprises who reinvest their share of profits in their enterprises to increase the registered capital or in other new enterprises with an operational period not less than five years may apply for a refund of 40 percent of the paid income tax for the amount of reinvestment, subject to approval by the taxation authority. The remaining 60 percent shall be first collected and then returned by the local finance department according to relevant regulations. The income tax returned to those who withdraw their investment from the enterprises before the five-year-term of operation expires shall be recovered. A full amount of the business income tax paid for the portion of reinvestment shall be returned to foreign investors reinvesting to set up or expand export-oriented enterprises and technology-advanced enterprises. Enterprises newly established or expanded with reinvestment by foreign investors shall hand back the 60 percent of tax returned to them in case that they fail to meet the criteria set for the export-oriented enterprises or to continue to be identified as technology-advanced enterprises within a period of three years beginning with the year of operation. 6). Foreign-funded enterprises shall be exempt from the license tax for the use of the automobiles and boats and the urban housing and land tax for five years beginning with the month they are in operation.7). Foreign-funded enterprises engaged in land reclamation to develop agricultural production may enjoy an exemption from the agricultural tax for five years. 2). The term of the right of land use which foreign-funded enterprises obtain by means of transfer shall be no ?more than 40 years for commercial purpose, no more than 50 years for industrial production, and no more than 70 years for the erection of residences. 3). Foreign-funded enterprises enjoying the priority of encouragement as stipulated in the Measures shall be entitled to a six-year exemption from the fees for transfering the right to use land beginning with the day they obtain the right of land-use by means of land transfer. 4). Foreign-funded enterprises not given the priority of encouragement in the Measures shall exempt from the fees for transfering the right of land use for four years beginning with the day they obtain the right of land-use by means of land transfer. 5). Foreign-funded enterprises who obtain the right to use land by means of land transfer and have difficulties in making a lump-sum payment of the transfer fees for the right of land-use may be allowed to pay by instalments the said fees within the first three years of operation. 6). Chinese parnters in Sino-foreign joint ventures and cooperative enterprises may covert the land assets into money and then bcome holders of state shares. 7). Foreign-funded enterprises may be allowed to transfer, lease, or mortgage on the land they obtain the right of use by means of land transfer after paying the full amount of the transfer fees according to law, and those which obtain the right of land-use by appropriation may do the same thing according to law after paying the full amount of the transfer fee for the right of land-use. Article 7: Other preferential policies foreign-funded enterprise are entitled to: 1). Foreign-funded enterprises shall be levied half of the fees for auxiliary urban infrastructure.2). Foreign staff of foreign-funded exterprises shall be charged at the same rate as to Chinese citiznes when getting accommodations, taking buses, trains, and airplanes or visiting scenic spots in Xinjiang. 3). Foreign-funded enterprises are subject to no restrictions of the institutional purchasing power and shall be exempt from the additional fees for the control of institutional purchasing power when purchasing self-used office and daily-life articles (inclusive automobiles and motorcycles) in China and from abroad. 4). The criteria of fees imposed on the self-used motor vehicles of foreign-funded enterprises shall be the same as that on state-owned motor vehicles in the autonomous region. 5). Foreign-funded enterprises shall be treated in the same way as state-owned enterprises in paying various fees for production and operation. 6). Enterprises established in the autonomous region with businessmen and firms from other places in China shall be entitled to the preferential treatment to foreign-funded enterprises upon approval when the investment by the businessmen and firms from other places in China makes up more than 25 percent of the registered capital of the enterprises. 7). Enterprises established by foreign businessmen entrusting their relatives and friends in China shall be entitled to the preferential treatment to foreign-funded enterprises upon approval when the investment by the foreign businessmen account for more than 25 percent of the registered capital of the enterprises. 8). Intermediary organizations and individuals that introduce foreign investment shall be entitled to a proper bonus by the beneficial Chinese sides according to the actual amount of investment received. 9). Priority shall be given in ensuring the supply of water, electricity, heating, and steam needed in the production and operaton of foreign-funded enterprises and in makaing arrangement for the use of land, the transport of their goods and products, and their import and export quotas. 10). Those engaged in highway projects may carry out land development and service operation related to their projects within a certain area along the highways, subject to approval. 11). Within the scope permitted by the state and autonomous region??s laws, decrees, and regulations, foreign-funded enterprises are entitled to the rights of autonomy as follows: They shall have the right to decide the mode of production, operation, and management as well as the forms of pay districution and the level of pay; to take in and dismiss employees; to set up their internal structures, to hire and discharge responisble members at various levels in the enterprises; and to fix the price of their products. Article 8: To applications with complete supporting materials for the establishment of foreign-funded projects, the examining and approving authority shall make a positive or negative response within five working days and finish the procedures of examinations and approval their departments are responsible for within ten working days. The department concerned shall submit to the state department concerned applications for projects above the quota and Class-B projects listed in the category whose development is restricted in A Guiding Catalog of Industries for Foreign Investment of the People??s Republic of China within 15 working days. Meanwhile, the work of qualification confirmation of foreign-funded enterprises shall be strengthened.
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