Six senior inspection teams returned recently to Beijing and reported still unchecked capital investments in examined provinces, defying Beijing’s years of effort to rein in runaway growth in excessive investments in localities.
According to a report by the 21st Century Economic Report, carried via Xinhua, provinces inspected told the parachuted vice-minister official-led teams that local investments have been dropping and pleaded a positive assessment of their jobs. But the Beijing officials, plucked from the State Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Land Resources, etc., learned many things otherwise.
Anhui, Henan, Hebei and Inner Mongolia have registered outstanding investment growths, respectively 55%, 54%, 48%, 44% and 43% over the first half of 2006. Many provinces started many illegitimate projects. Henan, Shandong, Hebei, Zhejiang and Anhui have, respectively, let go 27.4%, 26%, 28%, 22% and 11.4% illegitimate projects. [Full Text in Chinese]
Clearing up these excessive investments and maintaining the central tightening policy’s consistency and continuity are the keys for the economic macro-control, the teams said during a press conference on Oct. 26.