Li feels central region's pulse

In addition, most of the central provinces are also important grain producers. That's another key factor in their high level of well-being.

"Agriculture should not be regarded as an obstacle to development. Instead, the development of modern agriculture, which involves construction of facilities and investment in agricultural equipment, holds high potential for local economies," Zhang said.

He said that at present, growth in the central area is largely driven by an increase in investment, so looking at the long term, there's a need for the restructuring of heavy industry and the chemical sector.

Chinese premier rules out economic hard landing

Top 10 regions with highest GDP in China

"The development of the central provinces won't occur in isolation. It will drive the surrounding area and become an economic engine of China," he said.

Premier visits with workers on high-speed rail line 

Premier Li Keqiang visited a construction site for a high-speed railway line in Changsha, Hunan province, on Thursday morning and chatted with workers there.

The construction site is close to the Changsha South Railway Station.

Changsha will be part of a new line linking Shanghai and Kunming, with its 2,264-kilometer length making it the longest rail line between east and west China. Completion is scheduled for 2016.

The service will save 28 hours for passengers traveling between Shanghai and Kunming.

Li told the workers they were making a significant contribution to the country's development and praised their careers as "remarkable".

The line will pass through several poverty-stricken areas in central and western China. Li told the project managers that the construction of railways should be based on economic benefits as well as social justice.

The new line will help impoverished farmers from remote mountainous regions travel to cities for work and higher incomes, Li added.

Li said the high-speed line will help narrow the economic gap between the country's eastern and western regions and reduce the emotional distance between people in the disparate regions.

He also praised the construction company's efforts to promote rail products and equipment abroad.

More than 291.8 billion yuan ($46.9 billion) will be invested in the project, excluding the cost of the Shanghai-Hangzhou section, which was put into service in 2010.