UN warns China: “tackle social problems, not just the economy”
Beijing (AsiaNews/Agencies) – A high level United Nations official has warned the Chinese government has warned environmental degradation, resource depletion and the rising wealth gap, must be faced if Beijing wants to maintain economic growth.
In an address at Beijing University, Khalid Malik, and the UN Resident Co-ordinator and UN Development Programme Resident Representative in China, said that “after years of runaway growth, the authorities had the capacity to tackle pressing problems that had long been overlooked”.
Malik, speaking yesterday on "Why has China grown so fast for so long?” underscored the mainland's share of world trade has tripled since 1990 and is still rising unabated. As a result, Beijing is now sitting on a whopping foreign reserve of US trillion.
Malik attributed the sustained economic growth to several factors, including a long-term commitment to reform and development, and pragmatic approaches. Nevertheless, mainlanders are increasingly divided by the unequal distribution of wealth.
As a result many disadvantaged sections of the public were increasingly feeling “left out in terms of access to education, basic social security and medical care, compared with the managerial class”.
Malik data was confirmed by a report presented yesterday by the United Nations. The text explains that “while global economic development grows weaker, the only positive data will come from India, China and Japan”.
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20/12/2004
