China will further open up its central region to foreign investment, said Vice-Premier Wang Qishan at a business event in Taiyuan, Shanxi province. “We will continue creating a fairer and more transparent investment environment to attract more foreign investments to central China,” he was quoted as saying by China Daily.

Another senior government figure, Vice-Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng, argued that more should be done to exploit central China’s advantageous location. “We should enhance the development of logistical systems to facilitate regional transportation and stimulate economic growth,” he said.

Central China has outperformed other parts of the country in recent years in terms of foreign direct investment, growing 32 per cent in the first eight months of 2011, 14 percentage points higher than the national average increase.