Bouquet of Roses May Have Note: ‘Made in China’

...an elaborate Chinese government effort to export cut flowers, aimed not just at developing a new business to take on the world but at redeveloping the social and economic landscape here in southwestern China.

By placing the flower industry, along with several others, far from the coastal provinces that have enjoyed most of the nation's prosperity, Beijing officials hope to bring jobs to tens of millions of impoverished, isolated workers in a bid to narrow the income gap between rich city dwellers and unemployed farmers...

"Our plan is to become the biggest flower producer and exporter in Asia in 10 to 15 years," and possibly the world's largest after the Netherlands, said Li Gang, the deputy chief of the Flower Association, a provincial government agency.

The government has dedicated a huge effort to making all this possible. Extending its top-notch infrastructure inland, it is building 12-lane roads, sturdy bridges and international airports in this strategically critical area. Elsewhere in China's poor inland provinces, similar investments are helping industries making everything from shoes to electronics to cars.