Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi urged local governments to push for scientific outlook on development to boost progress of the country's central region.

She made the remarks recently while inspecting economic and social developments in the central Anhui Province. Her visit from Feb. 18-22 focused on international trade, a rural cooperative medical care system, tourism and post-disaster reconstruction.

Wu said she appreciated the remarkable improvements Anhui had made in recent years and urged local authorities to speed up attracting overseas investments and to accelerate fund flow in the private sector.

Local industries and enterprises should be given preferential policies for seeking more products of added-value and boosting self-innovation, as well as heightening products quality.

Wu stressed local governments should collect their strength to ensure investments in rural cooperative medical care to benefit more farmers.

China's rural cooperative medical care system is currently being expanded to cover all rural residents by year end and government spending on the system will be sharply increased, according to Wu.

(Xinhua News Agency February 23, 2008)