A design plan released by the State Council Information Office states that China will build an inland regional economic zone spanning two northwestern provinces.
The Guanzhong-Tianshui Economic Zone Development Program shows a zone that will cover 79,800 square kilometers of Shaanxi and Gansu provinces.
The plan showed the area would be built into "a strategic highland for the country’s inland economic development and opening-up," serving as a key manufacturing base and an industrial base to showcase modern agricultural technology.
China View reported that Li Yingming, deputy director of the Department of Western Region Revitalization under the National Development and Reform Commission, said the most important aspect of the proposed zone was a policy for Xi’an, capital of Shaanxi Province (famous for its terra cotta warriors), to pursue scientific and technological reform.
Xi’an would also study building an inland port bonded zone, Li said.