# Rise of Central China Plan
The **Rise of Central China Plan** (中部崛起计划) is a regional development policy of the People's Republic of China that promotes the economic rise of six central provinces: Shanxi, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei, and Hunan. First proposed in the government work report of March 2004, it was formalized in April 2006 by a joint Central Committee and [State Council](https://www.edgepedia.org/state-council) document and, according to Chen Yao, has been extended by successive plans through 2024.[1](https://yangtze.silkroadinfo.org.cn/2025/1118/c3432a4728101/page.htm) • [2](https://yangtze.silkroadinfo.org.cn/2025/0210/c3505a4314225/page.htm)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First proposal | March 2004 government work report[1](https://yangtze.silkroadinfo.org.cn/2025/1118/c3432a4728101/page.htm) • [3](https://www.sinoptic.ch/shanghaiflash/texts/pdf/2012/201204_Shanghai.Flash.pdf) |
| Founding document | 《中共中央国务院关于促进中部地区崛起的若干意见》 (Central Document No. 10), April 2006, with 36 policy measures[1](https://yangtze.silkroadinfo.org.cn/2025/1118/c3432a4728101/page.htm) • [2](https://yangtze.silkroadinfo.org.cn/2025/0210/c3505a4314225/page.htm) |
| Strategic positioning | "Several bases, one hub": grain production, energy and raw materials, modern equipment manufacturing and high technology, and a comprehensive transport hub[4](http://gxt.hunan.gov.cn/gxt/xxgk_71033/zcfg/zcjd/201111/t20111117_2264049.html) |
| Area covered | Six provinces, 1.03 million km², 360 million people at end-2008[5](https://www.waizi.org.cn/law/4884.html) |
| Economic weight | 2008 regional GDP of 6,318.8 billion yuan, 19.3% of the national total[5](https://www.waizi.org.cn/law/4884.html) |
| Major plans | 2009–2015 plan (2009); 2012 State Council opinions targeting 2020; 2016 "13th Five-Year" plan; 2021 high-quality development opinion[4](http://gxt.hunan.gov.cn/gxt/xxgk_71033/zcfg/zcjd/201111/t20111117_2264049.html) • [6](https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/2012-08/31/content_1147.htm) • [7](https://epaper.gmw.cn/gmrb/html/2024-04/18/nw.D110000gmrb_20240418_1-07.htm) • [8](http://www.wisdomchina.org.cn/html1/report/2404/438-1.htm) |
## Origin
The idea predates the national policy by nearly two decades. In March 1987, Xia Zhenkun (夏振坤), a professor at the Hubei Academy of Social Sciences, first proposed the concept of "rising central China," and in December 1987 the Hubei provincial party committee formally adopted it as a strategic goal.[9](https://cssn.cn/skgz/bwyc/202406/t20240624_5760687.shtml) Scholars including Guo Laixi (郭来喜) organized a preparatory group to campaign for including central China's rise in national policy; their memorandum recorded a central region of about 280 million people, over a quarter of the national total, with 2002 GDP of about 1,900 billion yuan, roughly a fifth of the national total, and per-capita GDP at about 70% of the national average.[10](http://www.pzhlib.com.cn:9000/qikan2020/100144844135.pdf)
The motivation was relative decline. Per-capita GDP in the central region fell from about 70% of the national average in 1988 to about 60% in 2003.[3](https://www.sinoptic.ch/shanghaiflash/texts/pdf/2012/201204_Shanghai.Flash.pdf) In March 2004 Premier Wen Jiabao announced the plan in the government work report; the Central Economic Work Conference returned to it in December 2004, and according to Sina Finance, the March 2005 work report called for drafting a formal plan.[1](https://yangtze.silkroadinfo.org.cn/2025/1118/c3432a4728101/page.htm) • [3](https://www.sinoptic.ch/shanghaiflash/texts/pdf/2012/201204_Shanghai.Flash.pdf) • [11](http://finance.sina.com.cn/hy/20070613/23323689277.shtml)
## Contents
The April 2006 Central Document No. 10 defined the region's role as "three bases, one hub" (三基地一枢纽): a national grain production base, an energy and raw materials base, a modern equipment manufacturing and high-technology industry base, and a comprehensive transportation hub, supported by 36 policy measures.[1](https://yangtze.silkroadinfo.org.cn/2025/1118/c3432a4728101/page.htm) • [2](https://yangtze.silkroadinfo.org.cn/2025/0210/c3505a4314225/page.htm) A distinctive feature is the "two comparisons" policy (两个比照): 26 cities in the six provinces apply the preferential policies of northeast old industrial base revitalization, and 243 counties and districts apply the western development policies.[6](https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/2012-08/31/content_1147.htm)
The 2009 plan set the planning period at 2009–2015, with major questions looking ahead to 2020, and targeted a 48% urbanization rate, a cumulative 25% cut in energy consumption per unit of regional GDP, and average annual growth of urban and rural incomes above 9%.[5](https://www.waizi.org.cn/law/4884.html) • [12](https://www.0798ci.com/law/4884.html) The 2012 State Council opinions (国发〔2012〕43号) extended the strategy to 2020, aiming for the region's urbanization rate to reach the national average and for key public-service indicators to approach eastern levels.[6](https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/2012-08/31/content_1147.htm) The 2016 "13th Five-Year" plan revised the positioning to "one center, four zones": a national advanced manufacturing center plus leading zones for new urbanization, modern agriculture, ecological civilization, and opening up.[7](https://epaper.gmw.cn/gmrb/html/2024-04/18/nw.D110000gmrb_20240418_1-07.htm)
## Implementation and revision
Institutional machinery followed the 2006 document: in 2007 the State Council's Office for Promoting the Rise of Central China was established within the [National Development and Reform Commission](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-development-and-reform-commission), and in 2008 the State Council approved an inter-ministerial joint conference mechanism led by the NDRC.[7](https://epaper.gmw.cn/gmrb/html/2024-04/18/nw.D110000gmrb_20240418_1-07.htm) According to Fan Hengshan, the State Council's executive meeting approved the 2009–2015 plan, and the NDRC issued it.[4](http://gxt.hunan.gov.cn/gxt/xxgk_71033/zcfg/zcjd/201111/t20111117_2264049.html)
The strategy has been renewed rather than abolished. In May 2019 [Xi Jinping](https://www.edgepedia.org/xi-jinping) chaired a work symposium on the rise of central China in Nanchang, Jiangxi, setting out eight points of guidance; in April 2021 the Central Committee and State Council issued the Opinion on Promoting High-Quality Development of Central China in the New Era; and in March 2024 Xi chaired a further symposium in Changsha, Hunan.[1](https://yangtze.silkroadinfo.org.cn/2025/1118/c3432a4728101/page.htm) • [8](http://www.wisdomchina.org.cn/html1/report/2404/438-1.htm)
## Political influence
The plan completed China's regional development framework of three-plus blocks, alongside western development, northeast revitalization, and eastern-area first development, and created standing institutions, the NDRC office and the inter-ministerial conference.[2](https://yangtze.silkroadinfo.org.cn/2025/0210/c3505a4314225/page.htm) • [7](https://epaper.gmw.cn/gmrb/html/2024-04/18/nw.D110000gmrb_20240418_1-07.htm) It also redirected fiscal and regulatory instruments toward the interior: during 2006–2008, central-region GDP grew by roughly 10% annually, and its share of national GDP rose from about 19% in 2005 to about 19.5% in 2008.[4](http://gxt.hunan.gov.cn/gxt/xxgk_71033/zcfg/zcjd/201111/t20111117_2264049.html) Anhui's GDP illustrates the scale of change, rising from about 481 billion yuan in 2004 to 1.5 trillion yuan in 2011.[3](https://www.sinoptic.ch/shanghaiflash/texts/pdf/2012/201204_Shanghai.Flash.pdf)
## Assessment and disputed questions
Evaluations of the strategy's economic effect disagree. One study using spatial regression discontinuity (method comparing areas just inside vs. outside a policy boundary) around the 2004 policy boundary finds the strategy significantly raised growth and incomes in targeted areas, with industrial output up about 20%, enterprise numbers up about 8%, and total capital input up about 12%; it credits tax incentives and development-zone policy, finding government subsidies less effective, and notes that new provincial-level and above development zones in central provinces rose from about 15 in 2000–2003 to about 220 in 2004–2010.[13](http://dbase.gslib.com.cn:8000/DRCNet.Mirror.Documents.Web/docview.aspx?DocID=7898346&leafID=12) Other scholars reach different conclusions: Zheng Zhanpeng and coauthors (2019) find the strategy raised growth rates in Henan and Hubei, while [Li Bin](https://www.edgepedia.org/li-bin) and coauthors (2019) argue the policy incentives worked only in the short run and created a long-run policy trap.[13](http://dbase.gslib.com.cn:8000/DRCNet.Mirror.Documents.Web/docview.aspx?DocID=7898346&leafID=12)
Aggregate figures complicate a simple success narrative. The six provinces' share of national GDP was 22.57% in 2003, 21.67% in 2013, and 21.41% in 2023, a declining trend, and in 2022 their urbanization rate of 60.67% remained 4.55 percentage points below the national average.[7](https://epaper.gmw.cn/gmrb/html/2024-04/18/nw.D110000gmrb_20240418_1-07.htm) Sources also differ on when the policy was first proposed: most Chinese accounts date the first explicit statement to the March 2004 government work report, while one account attributes the explicit formulation to the December 2004 Central Economic Work Conference.[1](https://yangtze.silkroadinfo.org.cn/2025/1118/c3432a4728101/page.htm) • [8](http://www.wisdomchina.org.cn/html1/report/2404/438-1.htm) Population figures for the region likewise vary by date and source, from 27.2% of the national total around 2002 to 360 million people at end-2008.[10](http://www.pzhlib.com.cn:9000/qikan2020/100144844135.pdf) • [5](https://www.waizi.org.cn/law/4884.html)
## References
1. 陈耀：新时代站在更高起点推动中部地区崛起, https://yangtze.silkroadinfo.org.cn/2025/1118/c3432a4728101/page.htm
2. 程必定：新时代站在更高起点推动中部地区崛起, https://yangtze.silkroadinfo.org.cn/2025/0210/c3505a4314225/page.htm
3. The "Rise of Central China" Plan: Objectives and Impacts with Special Focus on Anhui Province, Shanghai Flash, https://www.sinoptic.ch/shanghaiflash/texts/pdf/2012/201204_Shanghai.Flash.pdf
4. 解读《促进中部地区崛起规划》（范恒山）, http://gxt.hunan.gov.cn/gxt/xxgk_71033/zcfg/zcjd/201111/t20111117_2264049.html
5. 国函〔2009〕130号《国务院关于促进中部地区崛起规划的批复》全文, https://www.waizi.org.cn/law/4884.html
6. 国务院关于大力实施促进中部地区崛起战略的若干意见（国发〔2012〕43号）, https://www.gov.cn/zhengce/content/2012-08/31/content_1147.htm
7. "中部地区崛起"20年：更高起点上 如何更进一步, 光明日报, https://epaper.gmw.cn/gmrb/html/2024-04/18/nw.D110000gmrb_20240418_1-07.htm
8. 奋力谱写中部地区崛起新篇章, 智慧中国, http://www.wisdomchina.org.cn/html1/report/2404/438-1.htm
9. 奋力谱写中部地区崛起新篇章, 中国社会科学网, https://cssn.cn/skgz/bwyc/202406/t20240624_5760687.shtml
10. 关于开展《中国中部崛起纳入国家行动》的倡议, http://www.pzhlib.com.cn:9000/qikan2020/100144844135.pdf
11. 专题一：中部崛起进程, 新浪财经, http://finance.sina.com.cn/hy/20070613/23323689277.shtml
12. 国函〔2009〕130号《国务院关于促进中部地区崛起规划的批复》全文, https://www.0798ci.com/law/4884.html
13. 中部崛起战略的经济效应及其机制：基于空间断点回归的分析, 国研网数据库, http://dbase.gslib.com.cn:8000/DRCNet.Mirror.Documents.Web/docview.aspx?DocID=7898346&leafID=12
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › Asian history › China › People's Republic of China (1949 to present) › Policies, laws, and reforms*
*Initially written Sep 23, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license