The Chinese government Tuesday called for further efforts to accelerate economic development in China's northeastern areas.

The old industrial bases in northeastern China are at a key growth point and relevant policies should be carried out in full to build it into a new engine for China's economic growth, said a statement issued after a meeting chaired by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.

There has been much social and economic progress in the northeast since the government introduced strategies to renew the region's economy, said the statement.

Economic growth and foreign investment growth in the region are higher than the country's average, said the statement.

Further efforts should be made to restructure the economy, deepen reforms and opening-up and promote the agricultural advantages of the region, said the statement.

The meeting also passed a plan to protect the ecology of the Greater Hinggan Mountains and the Lesser Hinggan Mountains.

Officials from Liaoning Province, Jilin Province, Heilongjiang Province and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region attended the meeting.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (C) hosts a meeting on further efforts to accelerate economic development in China's northeastern areas in Beijing, capital of China, Aug. 17, 2010. [Xinhua]

(Xinhua News Agency August 18, 2010)