Senior leader stresses development of economic zone on west bank of Taiwan Strait

A senior Chinese leader on Sunday called on local authorities in southeastern China's Fujian Province to boost development of the economic zone on the western side of the Taiwan Strait.

Wang Gang, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), made the remarks during an inspection tour to Fujian's Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Xiamen and Nanping cities.

Local authorities should seize favorable opportunities, make sound plans, and take effective measures to accelerate development of the economic zone, said Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China.

He noted that although China has quickly reversed the once downward trend of economic growth rate, and retained a better-than-expected social and economic growth, the country was still faced with a number of difficulties and problems during its development.

He urged local authorities to focus on building a cooperation platform across the Taiwan Strait, coordinating urban and rural development, and safeguarding and improving people's livelihood.

The economic zone should make greater contributions to the steady and relatively fast social and economic growth, and to the peaceful unification of the country, he said.

Source:Xinhua