As the development plan recently unveiled by Xi'an, capital of Northwest China's Shaanxi province, indicates, the advancement of information, digital and environmental protection technologies, and the emphasis that the central authorities have put on innovation, provides the western region with new development opportunities.

The Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, the Tibet autonomous region, the west wing of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, the Ningxia Hui autonomous region, and Gansu and Qinghai provinces will therefore acquire more importance in the future economic map of China, as the country advances its "dual circulation" development paradigm.

Although the per capita gross domestic product is comparatively low in the region, it has several cities－including Xi'an, Chengdu, Lanzhou－that have sound education, research and industrial foundations thanks to the long-term inputs made over the past more than seven decades. These provincial capitals should take advantage of their strengths to attract more talents and investment from around the world, although it is important to avoid forming an economic development pattern in which they become overly dominant in their provincial economies.

The cooperation and partnership between the western region and the more developed coastal regions of the country should also be strengthened, and the central authorities should channel more funds and resources to help improve the basic public services and infrastructures in the western region so that its natural environment and resources are not compromised in the pursuit of quick development returns.

It is necessary for the western areas to fully realize the significance of environmental protection and green development, and do a good job in striking a balance between them so as to realize sustainable development.

As the victory of the poverty alleviation campaign shows, the development of the western region is by no means the responsibility of only the local governments but a national endeavor that involves the collective efforts of all relevant parties. As the coastal regions have fed on labor, energy and resources from the western regions for decades, now it is time for them to pay back by helping the western region to realize sustainable development.