VZCZCXRO9304
PP RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #3787/01 3191017
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 151017Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2112
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEHRC/DEPT OF AGRICULTURE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 023787 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
USDOC FOR 4420 
STATE PASS USTR FOR STRATFORD, WINTER, ALTBACH 
STATE PASS CEA FOR BLOCK 
TREASURY FOR OASIA/CUSHMAN 
USDA/ERS FOR LOHMAR, TUAN, SYLVANA LI 
USDOL FOR ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: ECON EAGR ELAB PGOV SOCI CH
SUBJECT: WUHAN TO TAKE THE LEAD ON CENTRAL CHINA RISING 
 
REF:  (A) BEIJING 22299 (B) BEIJING 10969 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Hubei Provincial Government officials said that 
the Central Government is relying on Wuhan to lead the 
recently launched Central China Rising initiative.  In 
order to promote more robust economic development in the 
region, the six provinces of Central China will need to 
emphasize private sector development, especially in the 
services sector.  Officials and researchers in Wuhan 
described Central China as an artificial concept, 
suggesting it will be difficult to coordinate activities in 
all six provinces, particularly when each province is more 
closely tied to different economic centers on the coast 
than to the other provinces within the Central China 
grouping.   END SUMMARY. 
 
TRAVEL TO HUBEI 
--------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Econ Macroeconomic Unit Chief, Econoff, Econ 
Assistant, and Conoff traveled to Wuhan, Hubei Province, 
from October 31 to November 2.  Emboffs met with Provincial 
Government officials at Hubei's Development and Reform 
Commission, Foreign Affairs Office, Bureau of Land 
Resources, Statistics Bureau and Academy of Social Sciences. 
 
WUHAN TAKING THE LEAD 
--------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) A transportation and logistics hub located on the 
Yangtze River in Hubei Province, Wuhan is China's fifth- 
ranked population center with 7.86 million residents. 
According to Gong Bailin at the Hubei Provincial 
Development and Reform Commission (HPDRC), Wuhan's role as 
an agricultural, energy, and manufacturing base, as well as 
transportation hub, makes it the ideal city to take the 
lead on Central China's economic development.  Qin Zunwen 
at the Hubei Academy of Social Sciences (HASS) added that 
because of Wuhan's inherent economic advantages, President 
Hu Jintao told the city's leaders during a recent visit 
that spearheading the Central China Rising initiative is 
Wuhan's responsibility. 
 
CHANGES IN ATTITUDE... 
---------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Gong suggested that because the Central China 
Rising policy is a new initiative, promoting more robust 
economic development in the region will require several 
adjustments.  First, many of the region's leaders need to 
recognize why Central China's economic standing has fallen 
and Coastal China has boomed as China has reformed and 
opened up its economy.  There are too many officials in 
Wuhan, Gong said, who continue to erroneously believe that 
the city's old state-owned industrial base is sufficient 
for future growth, adding that Central China must shift to 
a market orientation that encourages private sector 
dvelopment and welcomes investment by foreign copanies. 
We noted that in this respect, Wuhan is off to a good start, 
with a lot of investment from Hong Kong, France, and the 
United States.  Gong further commented that Central China 
should promote enterprise development in the services 
sector, which traditionally has been underrepresented in 
the region. 
 
...CHANGES IN LATITUDE 
---------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Central China Rising strategy faces another 
significant challenge in that the concept of Central China 
is arguably artificial, and the region's six provinces are 
not accustomed to coordinating with each other.  Qin Zunwen 
at HASS pointed out that Hubei Province is the only one of 
Central China's provinces that does not border on a coastal 
province and therefore is not tied to another economic 
center on the coast.  Henan and Shanxi Provinces are tied 
 
BEIJING 00023787  002 OF 002 
 
 
economically to Beijing-Tianjin and the Bohai Rim, Anhui 
Province to Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), and 
Jiangxi and Hunan Provinces to Guangzhou and the Pearl 
River Delta (PRD). 
 
¶6. (SBU) In order for the Central China Rising policy to be 
successful, therefore, the six provinces will need to 
cooperate to attract investment and capital to the region. 
As Central China's most economically dynamic city, Wuhan 
will need to lead the effort and help the six provinces 
establish a new regional identity, Qin stated. 
 
RANDT