Quake reminder

Editor's note: The Yushu earthquake should refocus attention on the imbalances in the country's development. China must help such kind of underdeveloped regions catch up with modern development.

As one of the major causes behind the high death toll in the April 14 Yushu earthquake, adobe houses point to the underdevelopment in the remote county in western China.

Most of the houses in the area are traditionally constructed with adobe and crumbled into pieces as soon as the quake struck. People in these damaged structures choked to death under the debris. That is mainly why the death toll from the tremor has exceeded 1,700. The number of those injured in the disaster hit more than 12,100 in Yushu, which has a population of 100,000.

With a lack of industry, the poorly developed agricultural sector in the quake zone could have hardly provided locals with sufficient income for them to construct brick, let alone quake-resistant concrete, homes. Yushu is just one of many such places that have yet to see a substantial rise in people's living standards, because of an underdeveloped economy.

The latest earthquake should refocus attention on the imbalances in the country's development. The gap between the developed coastal areas and the central and western regions is huge. That is why the central government has launched the campaign to accelerate economic development in these inland regions. That is also why China is still a developing country.

Late leader Deng Xiaoping, who was also the architect of the country's reform and opening up, proposed common prosperity as the aim of our development.

There is still a long way to go before we realize this goal.

Provinces, regions and people from all walks of life are being mobilized to help Yushu's quake victims through these trying times and aid them in reconstruction.

This should also be a reminder that the world's largest developing nation still needs to fight the uphill battle of helping the vast, underdeveloped regions catch up with modern development.