A Study On The Balanced Development Of Urban And Suburban Areas Of Chengdu

Despite the impressive progress since reform and opening-up, China has not solved the long-existing dual economical structure, which has exacerbated the issues of agriculture, farmer and rural area. Balanced development of urban and suburban areas, a strategy advanced in 2003, was intended for a harmonious society in which the disturbing differences between the two areas would be eliminated. In line with this national strategy and scientific outlook on development, Chengdu municipal government has attained considerable achievements in balancing urband and suburban areas by focusing on clustering industries, urbanizing agriculture and scale operating land resources, and by establishing the objectives of integrating the planning, industrial development, market, infrastructure, public services and administrative management of urban and suburban areas. On the basis of these achievements, China government began to implement the reform plan of integrating urban-rural development by establishing two pilot areas in Chongqing and Chengdu in 2007. Having surveyed home and international theories and current research on integrating urban-rural development, this thesis analyses the present conditions of Chengdu and summarizes its experiences and problems for the conference of other cities.There are four parts in this thesis:The first part introduces the definition, meaning, purpose and significance of integrating urban-rural development, and at the same time, gives a causal analysis of the differences between the two areas. Also in this part, four main theoretical models of dual economical structure are summarized from its historical progress: Arthur Lewis advanced the concept of dualistic economy and provided a model with two phases; Gustav Ranis and John Fei made some improvements on it by establishing a model with three phases; Dale Jorgensen refuted the precursor with a new model; Michael Todaro proposed his hypothesis and replaced the formers with a better model. Both the advantages and disadvantages of these four models are examined, and the rationality of their establishment is scrutinized.The second part deals with the state of home and international research on and progress of integrating urban-rural development. Firstly, a summary of international theories on is given. From the perspective of materialism, Marx and Engels pointed out that it would be inevitable for the disintegration of rural and urban areas, and consequently they would remerge; Howard materialized his ideal model for urban-rural development with garden city concept; Milton Friedman and Gunnar Myrdal criticized and corrected Francois Perroux's Growth Pole Theory; Michael Lipton was opposed to"city-oriented"model and proposed the strategy of rural-urban development. Secondly, the writer examines the process of integrating urban-rural development in China. the issues of agriculture, farmer and rural area, advanced by Wen Tiejun, were given special attention of China government, and related development strategies were made during 16th and 17th National People's Congress. A number of scholars have studied the differences between the urban and rural development on this basis since then, and pointed out different directions. A summary of Shanghai and Jiangsu's progress in integrating urban-rural development is also given in this part. Thirdly, the writer analyses the differences between urban and rural development. Household registration system caused stiffening of the dual economic structure, and industrialization on the basis of price scissors policy deteriorated the situation. As a result of the vast differences and unfair treatments between urban and rural areas, the issues of agriculture, farmer and rural area became more prominent. Finally, the difficulties in balancing urban-rural development are pointed out, including the complicated dual economic structure, reform on population base, etc.The third part is devoted to the study of Chengdu's progess in integrating urban-rural development, the analysis of the advantages of Chengdu City in the program and the meaning of the pilot project against the background of agricultural reform. Under the guiding principles and with the adoptation of effective measures, Chengdu has attained remarkable achievements by focusing on clustering industries, urbanizing agriculture and scale operating land resources, and by establishing the objectives of integrating the planning, industrial development, market, infrastructure, public services and administrative management of urban and suburban areas. With actions taken to suit the local circumstances, pilot programs have been estbalished in Shuangliu County clustering industiral area, and"Five Golden Flowers"have been selected in line with tourism development planning. Agricultural investment has been increased, household registration system has been eliminated, farmers have been converted to citizens enjoying the equal social benefits, thus eradicating the long-existing dual economic structure in urban-rural development.In part four, the writer summarizes the lessons and experiences, and puts forward suggestions for further improvement. After summarizing the experience in developed countries such US, Japan and Korea, the writer gives analysis of their approaches to integrating urban-rural development and measures replicable in China.