The city of Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region. [Photo by Li Bin/gxnews.com.cn]

A press conference on the economic and social development of Liuzhou, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region was held in Nanning on Sept 9 to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the People's Republic of China.

Liuzhou is a famous historic and cultural city with a history of more than 2,100 years. Its economic growth has skyrocketed over recent years. The total GDP of Liuzhou has risen from 0.88 billion yuan ($123.36 million) in 1950 to more than 300 billion yuan in 2018.

Liuzhou has formed a modern industrial system with the three pillar industries of automobile, steel, and machinery, as well as the four traditional industries of chemicals, food, building materials, and textiles. It boasts the six strategic emerging industries of energy vehicles, electronic information, advanced equipment manufacturing, new materials, energy conservation and environmental protection, as well as biology and pharmaceuticals. The city's total industrial output value reached 500 billion yuan in 2017.

Recently, Liuzhou has focused on poverty alleviation. In the 2013-2018 period, a total of 395,800 people in the city were lifted out of poverty. The per capita disposable income of urban and rural residents in Liuzhou in 2018 reached 34,849 yuan and 13,451 yuan respectively, 91 and 166 times of that in 1980.

The air quality rate in Liuzhou has maintained a high level all year round, reaching 88.5 percent in 2018. The city's forest coverage rate is stable at more than 65 percent, and the green coverage rate of the built-up area is 43.97 percent.

The city also focuses on investment promotion, as it introduced 467.52 billion yuan of funds in the 2013-2018 period. It actively participates in regional cooperation and the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the western Land-Sea Trade Corridor, and the Pearl River-Xijiang Economic Belt.