This Day, That Year

Item from March 24, 1996, in China Daily: Vegetables are grown in greenhouses in the suburbs of Tongliao in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region.

Rich in natural resources but poor in infrastructure and living standards, 19 provinces and autonomous regions in the central and western parts of the country are calling for increased investment and preferential policies to spur an economic take-off and catch up with the more developed eastern areas.

For the past few decades, authorities have continued to push for the development of the country's central and western areas.