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China's urging of people to "Go West" will be enhanced by the building of crucial infrastructure and improvement of the region's ecology and environment. Officials say much progress has been achieved in these areas during the past two years.

The Go West plea got off to a "great start" and has boosted the economies in western regions, according to an official of the State Council department in charge of the campaign. This year will see a strengthening of infrastructure construction in the region's countryside areas, resulting in every county having electricity, and every village the means to enjoy radio and TV programs. The official said that every family which has not maintained its cultivated land has a duty to convert it to forest by planting trees.

The training of experts is also part of the Go West working plan--people who can boost the region's development of education, science and technology. Public servants in western China will be given opportunities to learn advanced management techniques, and to gain further experience by temporarily changing places with their counterparts in other parts of the country. School facilities, health equipment and public cultural facilities in poor areas are also expected to be improved.