ADB calls on China to raise rural spending
Haruhiko Kuroda, the chairman of the Manila-based body, said Rmb100bn ($12.5bn, �10.2bn, ￡7bn) a year could underwrite the living standards of China's poorest 25m people, paying for nine years of schooling for 120m rural students and basic healthcare for the countryside's 770m people.
"Given that fiscal revenues increased by about Rmb500m in the past two years, such an outlay is feasible and would go a long way to making growth more inclusive and equitable," he said.
The ADB formula complements and in some respects matches the Beijing government's own commitment to tackle income inequality laid out this month in the five-year economic plan to 2010.
Mr Kuroda, in a speech to the China Development Forum in Beijing and in comments made later to the FT, said the speed at which inequality had mushroomed in China was "worrying".
"I am not saying the poverty reduction has been stopped or that it has been reversed," he said. But the slow growth in rural incomes in recent years meant that the rate at which China's poverty had been falling had slowed. "China's income inequality is now above the average of many regions," he said.
The proportion of China's population living on less than $1 a day has fallen from about a third in 1990 to 10 per cent in 2004, or about 135m people.
Mr Kuroda said targeted support was needed to decrease rural poverty, but expressed trepidation about any funds being tied to crop production. "Governments are generally cautious about providing permanent income support," he said.
In the wake of the announcement of China's own plans for the countryside, local economists have debated the wisdom of investing in rural areas instead of providing farmers with greater incentives to move to cities. But Mr Kuroda said a dual approach was needed, combining aid to farmers and a relaxation of curbs on rural residents moving into urban areas.
“中国需出资1000亿元扶贫”
亚洲开发银行(ADB，简称亚行)行长黑田东彦(Haruhiko Kuroda)称，中国应该拿出相对适度的财政支出，向农村地区最贫困的人口提供基本医疗、免费教育以及最低生活保障。
黑田东彦表示，每年拿出1000亿元人民币(合125亿美元)，就能保证中国2500万最贫困人口的生活水平，为1.2亿农村学生支付9年的学费，并为7.7亿农村人口建立基本的医疗保障体系。黑田东彦说：“中国的财政收入在过去两年内增加了约5亿元人民币，这样的支出切实可行，而且将大大促进经济增长更加广泛和公平。” 亚行总部位于马尼拉。
亚行提出的这套方案对中国政府自己做出的承诺是一种补充，在某些方面也与之颇为相符。在本月发布的“十一五”规划中，中国政府承诺将解决收入不平等问题。
黑田东彦在北京出席中国发展高层论坛(China Development Forum)并发表演讲称，中国收入不平等问题的扩大速度“令人堪忧”。他在随后接受《金融时报》采访时也作同样表示。
他说：“我的意思并不是说中国消除贫困的步伐已经停止，或已经发生逆转。”但是，近年来农村收入方面的缓慢增长说明，中国消除贫困的速度有所减缓。他说：“中国收入不平等程度目前已经超出了世界许多地区的平均水平。”
日均生活费低于1美元的中国人口比例，已从1990年的约三分之一，降至2004年的10%，人口数约为1.35亿。
黑田东彦表示，为了降低农村贫困程度，有必要采取有针对性的支持措施，但他对任何与种植业捆绑的资金都感到不安。他表示：“各国政府对于提供永久性收入支持通常都比较谨慎。”
在中国宣布自己的农村规划之后，当地经济学家对于向农村地区进行投资、而非更多地鼓励农民移向城市的想法，展开了辩论。
但黑田东彦表示，需要实行一种双重措施，将对农民实行补助与放宽农村居民流入城市地区的限制相结合。“1.5亿富余农村劳动力是个庞大的数字，我认为他们不可能都在农村地区就业。”
黑田东彦同时表示，亚行愿意对给予一些支持，帮助中国政府实现提高能源效率的新目标。
他表示：“不合理的定价，陈旧、污染性技术的使用，自然资源的有限以及环境管理的不力，造成了中国的土地退化、水质下降、空气污染和酸雨盛行。”
