Zhang Yi, the secretary of CPC Ningxia Hui Autonomous Regional Committee and delegate to the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, stressed the rapid development and brilliant achievements that Ningxia has made over the past ten years when he attended the national meeting.

Industrial sectors have become the driving force in promoting economic development in Ningxia, he said. He stressed the swift development of Ningdong Energy Chemical Base over the past several years and pointed out that the coal, power, coal chemical and new material industries have all taken shape with a total investment of 170 billion yuan (US$ 27.27 billion) and an annual growth rate of 40 percent. He added that the modern agriculture and service industry also maintained good momentum in Ningxia during the same period. Current regional GDP maintained an average growth rate of 12.2 percent annually over the past 10 years, 1.5 percent higher than the national average growth rate, according to Zhang Yi.

He mentioned that the recent approval for the establishment of a new Ningxia economic inland pilot zone and a comprehensive bonded area in Yinchuan marks a new opening-up phase in Ningxia, he said. The fact that the China-Arab Economic and Trade Forum will be upgraded to the China-Arab Expo next year also brings about great development opportunities for Ningxia, he added.

He also highlighted the achievements of the Good Valley of Yellow River Charity. Many entrepreneurs and philanthropists have made investments in the valley. Currently six industrial parks with a total of 45 enterprises have built bases there with a project investment volume totaling 18.2 billion yuan.

Zhang also said that poverty alleviation still poses a challenge in Ningxia. But he was confident that the optimization of development in every aspect will give full play to everyone’s initiative and creativity, and the development in Ningxia is bound to blossom in future.