Zhengzhou, capital of Henan province, will maintain its focus on technology innovation and opening-up strategies, accelerate the transformations required for urban development, strengthen the modern industrial system and optimize public services, said Xu Liyi, Party secretary of Zhengzhou and a deputy to the National People's Congress.

The city has embraced high-quality development for the 13th Five-Year Plan (2016-20) period, Xu said. Those developments include Yellow River ecological protection, industrial upgrading, technology innovation and high-level opening-up.

Xu said he hopes the city can continue to make significant progress on ecological protection in and near the Yellow River, and strives to build growth engines for Central China.

Tang Ziye contributed to the story.