A high-ranking official of south China's Guangdong Province pledged today to staunchly support the government-initiated strategy of developing western areas and take concrete measures to implement the decision.

Li Changchun, secretary of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, said during a panel discussion that implementation of the strategy is of great significance to expanding domestic demand, promoting sustained economic growth, seeking balanced east-west development and common prosperity, maintaining national unity and social stability, as well as border security.

Guangdong has been assigned to help Guangxi Zhuang and Tibet Autonomous regions and Guizhou Province. "We will do a better job under the guidance of the strategy," Li said. Guangdong takes development of western areas as a new opportunity and is encouraging local enterprises to expand their presence in western areas.