THE ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN AND RURAL CHINA: BEIJING

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 000359 SIPDIS TREASURY FOR OIA CWINSHIP AND TTYANG NSC FOR LOI E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/11/2029 TAGS: ECON EFIN EAGR PGOV SOCI CH SUBJECT: THE ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN AND RURAL CHINA: BEIJING PERSPECTIVES REF: A. FBIS/OSC #CPP20090201163001 ¶B. 08 BEIJING 750 ¶C. 08 BEIJING 3933 ¶D. 08 BEIJING 4100 ¶E. 08 BEIJING 4102 ¶F. BEIJING 186 Classified By: Econ Minister-Counselor Rob Luke for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: For the sixth year in a row, the Chinese Government,s first major policy document of the year has focused on the rural sector. The document breaks little new ground on the policy front, mainly reiterating the Government,s oft-stated goal of tackling rural poverty and boosting rural consumption. Embassy contacts believe the lack of new specific measures to address rural poverty reflects a view in the Central Government that rural China can fend for itself during the current economic slowdown and a belief that rural China is not likely to be the source of major social unrest during the economic slump. At the same time, the economic slowdown is having a negative impact on on-going Government poverty alleviation programs aimed at rural China, and critics worry that poor execution of these programs and a misdirected focus in Chinese stimulus measures on infrastructure investment is leaving a vulnerable segment of the population without needed assistance in tough times. END SUMMARY. Another Rural Number One Document and Plans to Boost Consumption -------------- -------------- ¶2. (U) On February 1, the Chinese State Council and Central Committee of the Communist Party of China released the 2009 Number One Document focusing on rural issues, the sixth of its kind since 2004 (Refs A, B). The document restates on-going programs announced at the Third Plenum in October 2008 (Refs C, D, E) and the Rural Work Conference in December 2008 to reform local governance, increase transfer payments, raise the minimum purchasing prices for grain and boost agricultural subsidies, reform rural land policy, address the needs of laid off migrant workers, and boost rural pension, education and healthcare expenditures. The document also states the Government is extending its rural 13 percent subsidy scheme for home appliance purchases nationwide in an effort to boost rural consumption and alleviate the effects of the global financial crisis. (Note: According to official media, the plan was implemented on a trial basis in 12 provinces starting in December 2007. End Note.) The document also urges local governments to adopt measures to create jobs and increase rural incomes in order to alleviate the impact of the global financial crisis and domestic slowdown. Critics Fault Government Rural Development and Stimulus Plans -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) While most observers welcome the Government,s stimulus efforts and are optimistic about its overall macroeconomic impact, a number of Embassy contacts point to areas where Government efforts to address the impact on the rural sector are falling short. Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) Rural Development Institute Professor Li Renqing said local social services often do not reach those in need and institutions needed to effectively distribute Government assistance are weak. Li is also concerned that the benefits from increased infrastructure spending will go to large state-owned enterprises and not agriculture and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). ¶4. (C) Liu Dongwen, Deputy Executive Director of the China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation (CFPA),an NGO affiliated with the State Council Leading Group on Poverty Alleviation and Development (LGOP),said he is worried that the fiscal stimulus package will not help lower-income rural residents. Liu also doubts that local governments will be able to achieve their spending targets under the Government,s fiscal stimulus package because fiscal revenue from land transfers and sales, a major source of local government income, is being limited by new land use regulations (Refs F, D). (Note: The Ministry of Finance has announced it will start issuing bonds on behalf of local governments, but it is unclear when issuance of these bonds will begin. End Note.) Liu also complained that what official media claims are "new BEIJING 00000359 002 OF 003 measures" by some local governments to extend guaranteed loans to unemployed migrant workers, have actually been around for years and, like most micro- and small-scale lending programs in China, are not well-managed or very effective. ¶5. (C) Christ Spohr (strictly protect),Social Sector Economist at the Asian Development Bank,s China Office, told Econoff he would prefer that more of the Government stimulus efforts go into building human resources and addressing social welfare issues and poverty reduction efforts. World Bank China Country Director David Dollar wrote publicly January 14 that infrastructure projects announced so far "may take some time to get going and will not help the large numbers of workers losing their jobs in the export sectors." Dollar also argues against "fighting the last war" with more spending on infrastructure "that is basically excellent," and advocates spending on social services and housing for migrants moving to the cities, on railroads, and on environmental protection, all current bottlenecks in the economy. ¶6. (C) World Bank Rural Sector Coordinator for China Sari Soderstrom (strictly protect) told Econoff on February 6 that she is worried about the absorptive capacity of local governments receiving fiscal stimulus funds. At the moment, according to Soderstrom, in the push to "get the money out the door" local governments are being held accountable for spending money, not for results. Soderstrom is worried about the "software" and institutional constraints facing rural development efforts, and is concerned that addressing them, which will require time and effort, is not a priority of the Government,s stimulus efforts. According to Soderstrom, no one will care about how effectively funds for boosting rural consumption are spent until we see large farmer uprisings, which she thinks are on the way. ¶7. (C) Li Zhiying (strictly protect) from the Empowerment and Rights Institute, a local NGO, observed in a meeting with Emboffs on January 15 that government training and other programs in response to the financial crisis will not increase incomes. Rather, these programs are politically motivated because the Government knows it must show that it cares and is working for the people. Li argued that government programs aimed at encouraging returning migrant workers to start small businesses likewise would not increase incomes, since migrants left their villages in the first place because they lacked job opportunities. Li said these polices are only designed to show the government is doing something. "The government is not stupid" Li said. Official Poverty Fighters Feeling the Squeeze -------------- ¶8. (C) On January 15 LGOP Deputy Director for International Cooperation explained to Econoff that companies taking advantage of LGOP,s preferential programs are actually not expanding their businesses or making investments to create jobs in poor areas as required. Liu, who also directs CFPA,s Microfinance Department, said that the global financial crisis is affecting his fund-raising for microfinance programs because CFPA obtains its capital via wholesale loans from banks that are now short of funds themselves. He also worried about default rates because microfinance borrowers sometimes go to Rural Credit Cooperatives (RCC) and other rural financial institutions to borrow money to cover payments on microfinance loans, and in some cases RCC,s may be limiting their lending to small-scale borrowers. Families taking out microfinance loans often have a family member who is a migrant worker, and if they lose their job, the loans may be in danger of going into default. Liu also cited falling agricultural commodity prices as hurting farmers, income and ability to repay loans. Although the impact of these factors has been limited so far, Liu expects it to get worse in 2009. In response, CFPA is evaluating the credit worthiness of borrowers more carefully and limiting the size of loans while at the same time working with customers who fall on hard times to prevent defaults. But Still Not Too Alarmed About Rural Stability -------------- -- ¶9. (C) LGOP,s Tan Weiping gave his personal opinion that migrant workers are not a big concern to the Government BEIJING 00000359 003 OF 003 because they have land, which can ensure their livelihood even if they have to accept a lower standard of living. He did not expect any significant instability resulting from the global financial crisis. He insisted that infrastructure projects included in the stimulus plan will all require labor and raw materials, meaning unemployment should not dramatically increase. He argued that the rural economy is much healthier than it was 10 or 20 years ago, and rural residents are now very savvy and knowledgeable about how to navigate China,s modern market economy to find jobs and make a living. Li Ping (strictly protect),a rural land expert at the U.S.-based Rural Development Institute,s Beijing office, speculates that the threat of instability among returnees may not be immediate due to recent economic good times and the fact that rural residents still possess land. However, after six months or so, many returned migrant laborers who initially will live comfortably as upper middle class residents of their village will see their savings run out and will no longer be satisfied "taking a break" from their work in the cities. ¶10. (C) In a January 6 meeting with Econoff, CASS Rural Development Institute,s Yu Jianrong (strictly protect),an expert on rural social conflict, insisted that rural conflict is already occurring nationwide and on a daily basis due to a myriad of reasons. However, Yu said, the potential for increased rural unrest is limited to migrant laborers who return home to rural communities but no longer have family land from which to earn a living. Another possible source of unrest is students from rural areas who previously stayed in urban areas after graduating but may now be forced to return home. Many of these students have accumulated considerable debt while in school, and are often not willing to return to rural China, according to Yu. PICCUTA