Guangxi prioritizes health resources

China's "home of longevity" will focus on tapping its health-related resources in the next three years to spur economic growth and contribute to improving the health of Chinese in other areas, officials in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region said on Monday.

"With rapid economic and social development, health is gaining more attention," said Huang Weijing, vice-chairman of Guangxi.

"Development of the health industry is an urgent requirement to help meet increased demand and improve people's livelihoods."

To boost such development, Guangxi will carry out a three-year plan that includes 388 major projects with a total investment of 212 billion yuan ($30.7 billion), Huang said.

Owing to its natural environment, and clean soil and water, Guangxi has long been regarded as a place of longevity, he said.

The number of cities and counties in Guangxi considered locations of longevity by the Gerontological Society of China has reached 26, accounting for more than one-third of China's total, Huang said.

In Guangxi, there are 123 centenarians for every 1 million permanent population, making it one of China's regions with the most centenarians, he said.

According to the three-year plan, the health industry's output in China is expected to increase by more than 10 percent every year, with the total value of Guangxi's health output reaching 400 billion by 2020, accounting for 16 percent of the regions' GDP and becoming a new pillar industry of the region, according to Han Qingdong, deputy director of the regional development and reform commission.