A rich, strong western area means a rich, strong China

At the 10th Western China International Fair and Second Western China International Cooperation Forum in the city of Chengdu, Sichuan province on Oct 16, 2009, Premier Wen Jiabao spoke about developing western China on a large scale, with rapid growth in the economy.

"The government is resolved and will stick to its policy and make every effort in its Western Development Strategy because the level of development in the region will have an impact on China’s modernization, and the level of opening-up there will influence the breadth of the opening-up of the whole country," Wen pointed out.

The idea is to make fundamental changes in the relatively backward area to make its a new region with a booming economy, more advanced society, more stable life, beautiful environment, and wealthier citizens by the mid part of the 21st century, through hard work, as China modernizes more.