皇冠体育app

WB: 皇冠体育app's economy faces challenges
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-01-07 08:57

"The sustainability issues in 皇冠体育app are the key issues in the next three to five years and the ones that are most likely to jeopardize its economic success," said Yukon Huang, a senior adviser to the bank who formerly headed its office in Beijing.

皇冠体育app is now the world's second largest oil importer, and it suffers from poor efficiency in turning oil into economic output 鈥� just 1/7 that of Japan, Huang said at a seminar organized by Singapore's Institute for Southeast Asian Studies.

If 皇冠体育app "cannot improve in terms of its efficiency the cost will be unbearable," Huang said.

Economic growth 鈥� now running at about 9 percent, will likely fall to a more moderate 6 to 7 percent in coming years, Huang said, adding future growth would come less from new investment and more from greater productivity.

While 皇冠体育app has cut industrial air pollution, the improvements have been offset by rising private car ownership, Huang said. 皇冠体育app is now home to seven of the 10 worst polluted cities in the world, he said, saying that was something the country was "going to have to deal with."

Huang called growing pressure on dwindling water supplies 皇冠体育app's "Achilles heel," saying that wouldn't be solved by projects under way to pump water from the relatively wet south and west to the arid north.

The struggle for water will lead to "a fight between rural interests, urban interests and industrial interests on who gets water in 皇冠体育app," Huang said, adding some of 皇冠体育app's rivers are too polluted to drink, fish in, or even use for irrigation.

Huang said such sustainability issues posed a much greater threat to 皇冠体育app's development than political or economic risks such as the mountain of bad loans held by the nation's state-owned banks or the potential of conflict with Taiwan Province.

Yet he added that 皇冠体育app had long proved itself able to overcome overwhelming odds in the past, standing alone among nations served by the bank in routinely exceeding development predictions.

"I don't know how or why," Huang said, "but I think that's the success for you for 皇冠体育app."

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