CHINA, July 01, AsiaInfo Services, Inc - The Chinese Government is making efforts to speed up economic and social development in areas inhabited by ethnic minorities during the Ninth Five-Year Plan (1996-2000). The plans include:

Accelerating construction of the Nanning-Kunming electrified railway and a national highway from Lianyungang in East China's Jiangsu Province to Horgos in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region; Building a number of large water control projects in Xinjiang, Yunnan, Guizhou provinces, Tibet Autonomous Region and Qinghai Province; Allocating RMB 50 million (US$ 6 million) annually for development of pastoral areas in Xinjiang, Qinghai, Tibet and north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region; Further prospecting for minerals and developing oil resources in the Tarim, Junggar and Turban basins in Xinjiang;

Improving educational and health care conditions in ethnic minority areas. Increasing the amount of loans that support agriculture, township enterprises, and commodity distribution enterprises there.