Highway construction. Lanzhou, Gansu, China, 2011.<br />
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The goal of the &ldquo;Go West&rdquo; policy, launched just before China&rsquo;s entry into the World Trade Organization in 2001, was to develop the economies of China&rsquo;s western regions. While massive investment has boosted output and effectively raised GDP in the western regions, the project failed to achieve its goal of eliminating the economic gap between eastern and western China. Over $325 billion has been invested in major infrastructure projects in the west, making it one of the biggest economic regeneration programs of all time.