Speeding up the economic development of the capital city of Northwest China's Shaanxi Province is the top priority for its new Party Secretary Yuan Chunqing.

Yuan, who took over the leadership of the municipal Communist Party earlier this year, warns that, despite its position as the largest city in this part of China and being a popular tourist destination, Xi'an has suffered from somewhat sluggish economic development.

Yuan said that the city's "slow development" and "backward economy" meant that many of the plans to improve the city's infrastructure and its environment could not be implemented.

The city's economic growth was lower than Shaanxi Province's average of 12.5 per cent, which it notched up in the first quarter of this year.

In a bid to help the nation's relatively underdeveloped inland regions, such as Shaanxi, catch up with prosperous coastal areas, the central government unveiled the western development strategy five years ago.

Xi'an's primary industries registered 6 per cent growth, with 11 per cent growth in its secondary industries and 3 per cent for tertiary industries in the first quarter of 2004.

"We must get a clearer understanding of this situation, and further speed up our development," Yuan said.

Although the central government has focused on tackling excessive investment across the country, this need not worry Xi'an, said Yuan.

He said that the city's current investment in these areas is not excessive - with spending mainly being concentrated on infrastructure, the high-tech sector and ecological construction.

"So, we can greatly speed up local development by further increasing our investment in high-tech industries, the agricultural products processing sector, trade and tourism industries," Yuan said.

Xi'an plans to invest 62.3 billion yuan (US$7.51 billion) in its fixed assets this year. He said Xi'an should open wider to the outside world and increase its co-operation with the international economy and the trade and high-tech sectors.

"And we should further improve the market system, speeding up the city's development with capital operation as its core," the Party secretary said.

Yuan said the local government should pay greater attention to environment protection. Xi'an should consider ecological progress as an integral part of its economic development.

The tourism industry is a pillar of Xi'an's economy, with the Terracotta Warriors and a large number of ancient ruins, tombs and buildings, which attract millions of visitors from both home and abroad every year.

"While further improving our services, we need to develop more tourist programmes including Xi'an's ancient relics, folk culture, religion and traditional Chinese medicines, and we plan to open more sights of outstanding natural beauty," Yuan said.

(China Daily June 7, 2004)