Red Star News:

My question concerns coordinated regional development, which is a matter of overall and long-term significance. As this process moves forward, how should the central and western regions accurately define their own roles and further leverage their strengths? Thank you.

Wang Changlin:

Thank you for your question. I will answer it. Your question concerns coordinated regional development. China's central and western regions cover 18 provincial-level divisions, accounting for 82% of the country's land area and 53% of its population, playing a pivotal role in the country’s overall landscape of reform, development and stability. Regarding the role that central and western provinces should play in the overall national strategy, I believe it can be viewed from four perspectives.

First, they can stabilize the country's overall economic performance and provide strong support for national economic growth. In recent years, the economic output of the central and western regions has consistently accounted for more than 40% of the national total. Consider these figures: they represent 82% of China's land area, 53% of the population and 40% of GDP. While economic growth in these regions has outpaced the national average in recent years, their overall levels of industrialization and urbanization still lag behind the national level, indicating substantial development potential. At present and for some time to come, the central and western regions will remain a key force underpinning China's stable and positive economic performance.

Second, the central and western regions can shoulder their responsibilities in safeguarding and consolidating national strategic security. These regions play a uniquely important role in ensuring national security in food, ecology, energy and resources, as well as in industrial and supply chains. For example, the grain output of these regions reached nearly 800 billion jin (400 million metric tons) in 2025, accounting for 56% of the national total of 1.4 trillion jin. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, China's two "mother rivers," flow primarily through and nourish the vast lands of the central and western regions, giving them a prominent role as ecological barriers. Coal output in the central region stands at about 1.5 billion metric tons, while the western regions support the east through major projects such as the west-to-east power transmission program and west-to-east gas pipelines. This provides powerful momentum for economic and social development in eastern China. It can be said that the central and western regions have provided a solid guarantee for security in key areas, thereby effectively safeguarding overall national development and stability.

Third, the central and western regions can promote opening up and demonstrate new dynamism in building a new development paradigm. As the Belt and Road Initiative continues to advance, the central and western regions, especially the western region, are moving from the periphery of opening up to the forefront, displaying strong vitality. In 2025, the number of China-Europe freight train trips continued to grow, the freight volume of the China-Laos Railway increased 25% year on year, and the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor connected with 127 countries and regions. In the first 11 months of 2025, the total import and export volume of goods in the central and western regions reached nearly 8 trillion yuan, up 9.4% year on year and 5.8 percentage points higher than the national growth rate. As openness continues to deepen, the central and western regions are becoming new engines for driving China's exports.

Fourth, they can play a role in promoting coordinated development and make greater efforts to enhance regional balance. In recent years, the central and western regions have accelerated efforts to address shortcomings in public services and infrastructure, steadily improving people's living standards. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, the growth rate of per capita disposable income of residents in the central and western regions exceeded the national average, gradually narrowing the relative gap with the eastern region. However, we must also clearly recognize that the absolute gap still exists. For example, in 2024, the urbanization rates in the central and western regions were still 10.6 percentage points and 12.5 percentage points lower than that in the eastern region, respectively. As I just mentioned, these gaps represent our potential for future development. The central and western regions have a broad market and abundant factor resources, and have enormous potential in undertaking industrial relocation, boosting consumption and domestic demand, and advancing new urbanization and rural revitalization.

Going forward, the NDRC will continue to fulfill the responsibilities of the Office of the Central Leading Group for Coordinated Regional Development. Together with relevant departments and central and western provinces, we will continue to consistently advance regional strategies for the large-scale development of the western region and the rise of the central region, further transforming our potential advantages and spatial resources into economic advantages and tangible development results, enabling the central and western regions to contribute more to Chinese modernization. Thank you.

Shou Xiaoli:

Thank you, Mr. Wang, and thank you to all the speakers and friends from the media for your participation. Today's briefing is hereby concluded. Goodbye.

Translated and edited by Mi Xingang, Liao Jiaxin, Chen Xinyan, Dong Qingpei, Wang Xingguang, Lin Liyao, Xu Kailin, Xu Xiaoxuan, Zhou Jing, Li Huiru, Gong Yingchun, Fan Junmei, Liu Qiang, Wang Wei, Zhang Rui, Li Xiao, David Ball, Jay Birbeck, and Tudor Finneran. In case of any discrepancy between the English and Chinese texts, the Chinese version is deemed to prevail.