This Day, That Year

Item from May 21, 1995, in China Daily: Danish windmills in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region are part of the government's development emphasis on the western regions. Windmills in Inner Mongolia account for 80 percent of all wind power generated in China.

Foreign Trade Minister Wu Yi said the government will make vigorous efforts to boost foreign investments in the vast central and northwest regions in the coming years ... The hinterland regions, comprising 18 provinces and autonomous regions, are home to most of China's natural resources. But failure to include them in the opening drive of the late 1970s has created an economic gap between them and the booming East ...

In 1999, China launched a western development strategy covering areas including the Ningxia Hui autonomous region and Gansu and Qinghai provinces. The plan covered more than 70 percent of the country's territory and close to 30 percent of its population.