Anhui urged to embrace economic belt

Premier Li Keqiang called on Friday for Anhui province to take a leading role in the nation's strategy of boosting central China's development as well as take advantage of the country's promotion of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

The premier spoke during a panel discussion of National People's Congress deputies from Anhui, which is seen as a junction along the river, since it connects the upstream section in regions including neighboring Hubei province and the downstream section in Jiangsu province and Shanghai.

The economic belt, announced by the State Council, China's Cabinet, in September 2014, covers 2.05 million square kilometers, with 40 percent of the country's population, and generates about 40 percent of its gross domestic product.