(Photo: CGTN)

Western China should try to solve the problem of inadequate and unbalanced development as it pursues high-quality growth, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said.

He made the remarks while presiding over a meeting of the State Council Leading Group for Western Region Development on Tuesday.

The premier urged acceleration of the construction of backbone projects in areas such as transportation, energy and information.

The meeting stressed that it is necessary to improve the level of public services in education, employment, old-age care and other sectors in the western region.

The water diversion project, the Three-north Shelterbelt Development Program and the urban sewage and garbage disposal projects need to be advanced to release the western consumption potential.

Chinese President Xi Jinping had said in the report to the 19th National Congress that the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life is the problem that China faces.

"While China’s overall productive forces have significantly improved and in many areas, our production capacity leads the world, our problem is that our development is unbalanced and inadequate. This has become the main constraining factor in meeting the people’s increasing needs for a better life," the president noted.