Economic conditions and approaches to development in mountain regions in south central China

The poverty-stricken mountain areas in South Central China face many challenges on the road to sustainable development in the 21st century. Great progress has been made in alleviating poverty in the past decade: while 15 million people in these areas suffered from extreme poverty in 1989, this number decreased to about six million by 1996. Cereal production during the same period increased from 50 to 397 kg per capita. But to break away from poverty and raise the standard of living, the region must now enter a new stage of development. It needs to benefit from the transition taking place from..