The Office of the Leading Group for the Development of the Western Region under the State Council recently announced that based on the 11th Five Year Plan for the Development of the Western Region, China has established five key points which will guide the direction of development and promote the scientific planning of key industries in the region.

Wang Jinxiang, vice chairman of the NDRC and deputy director of the Office of the Leading Group for the Development of the Western Region, said that the Office has initiated the drafting of a development program for the western region, which includes five main goals.

Promoting the development of key economic zones: the government will accelerate the construction of the Chengdu-Chongqing, Shaanxi, Guanzhong, Gansu, Tianshui, and North Gulf Loop (Guangxi) economic zones so as to further the development of the western region.

Encouraging clustered development in urban areas: efforts will be made to give full play to the cluster effect of provincial capital cities such as Guiyang and Kunming as well as central, regional cities with a relatively high level of industrialization, population density, knowledge resources, as well as a good geographical location and biological environment.

Guiding and advancing intensive development of resource-rich regions: resource-rich regions such as the Qaidam Basin, Ordos Basin and Sichuan Basin should play a leading role in promoting local economic development by giving full play to their resources and comparative advantages, transforming scientific planning into industrial development reality, and accelerating the exploration of natural resources.

Promoting the development of key harbor cities on the boundary: efforts will be made to reinvigorate a number of commodities markets and logistic hubs. This can be done by focusing on the distribution of energy, raw material and featured agricultural products, such as grain and cotton. This will promote the export of products with local features and advantages.

Accelerating the development of areas in which ethnic minorities reside: the government will strengthen transfer payments and increase investment in areas where ethnic minorities live, such as the Sanjiangyuan region in Qinghai, the Nu River area in Yunnan, southern Gansu, and the Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefectures in south Guizhou, so as to help these people overcome poverty and promote the production and processing of featured agricultural products.

By People's Daily Online