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1st Ld-Writethru: China passes plan to boost development in central regions

Xinhua, December 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

China's State Council on Wednesday passed a plan to boost development in the country's central regions for the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020).

Accelerating the rise of central regions is of great importance to supporting China's medium-high economic growth, said a statement released after a State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Li Keqiang.

The meeting detailed major tasks for the plan, including guiding the transfer of industries from more developed coastal regions to inland central regions.

China will guide and support some industries in southeastern coastal areas that meet environment standards, as well as production bases for well-known brands, both foreign and Chinese, to move to central regions.

More will be done to encourage central China to develop advanced manufacturing, the statement said.

To further promote the opening up of central regions, the government will accelerate implementation of reform measures piloted in the country's free trade zones.

The cabinet also stressed coordinated urban-rural development and environmental protection, with conservation projects planned to safeguard forests and wetlands.

All-out efforts will be made to rid the regions of poverty and help resource-depleted cities transform their growth patterns, according to the statement.

The plan came as the government seeks to build infrastructure and transfer industry to less-developed regions to support growth while reducing regional disparities.

China's economy expanded 6.7 percent in the third quarter, unchanged from the previous two quarters, but still under downward pressure.

In addition, Wednesday's meeting passed five-year plans for information technology development and major science projects.

Building a unified, effective and reliable national data resource mechanism is among the key tasks for the plans.

The government will also accelerate high-speed broadband network construction, crack down on telecom fraud and carry out key technology research.

The meeting passed a draft revision to the law on controlling water pollution, vowing more severe punishment for excessive pollutant discharges. Endi