Wuzhong, a historically underdeveloped city in northwest China's Ningxia Hui autonomous region, has made significant economic strides by leveraging national strategies such as the latest round of western development and ecological conservation along the Yellow River, its top official said.

Wang Xuejun, Party secretary of the city, said Wuzhong's GDP reached 93.37 billion yuan ($12.9 billion) last year, up 6.1 percent from the previous year. Through comprehensive development initiatives, the city has emerged as a key economic driver in Ningxia.

Focusing on high-quality growth, Wuzhong has established six major industrial clusters, including natural gas utilization and new energy production, forming an integrated energy supply system that combines wind, solar, hydro and thermal power, Wang said.

The city has developed 10 pillar industries, including clean energy, dairy production and a specialty breakfast industry. Its five industrial parks have surpassed 100 billion yuan in total output, he said.

Wuzhong's new energy installed capacity reached 18.66 gigawatts, accounting for 45.2 percent of Ningxia's total, while its energy storage capacity hit 2.25 gigawatts, or 48 percent of the regional total, Wang said.

He highlighted innovation in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, citing the development of sodium-glucose co-transporter inhibitors that have filled domestic technological gaps. Key economic indicators outperformed national and regional averages, with value-added industrial output — a measure of activity in manufacturing, mining and utilities — rising 12.4 percent and fixed-asset investment increasing 11.7 percent.

The city has implemented 225 key reform measures, including 44 national and regional pilot programs, Wang said. One example is a market-oriented trading mechanism for water rights reform.

Wuzhong's agricultural facility mortgage financing model, which helped secure 410 million yuan in loans for 35 farms, has been included in the 2025 No 1 Central Document, the first major policy statement issued annually by China's central government.

As the city with the highest concentration of ethnic Hui residents, Wuzhong has introduced legislation to promote ethnic unity, Wang said.

"We cherish and protect ethnic unity just as we safeguard our lives," he said.

The Jinhuayuan community's ethnic integration model has been promoted nationwide, with residents of different backgrounds treating each other with respect and affection, he said. Wuzhong now has 39 national-level and 322 regional model communities for ethnic unity.

The city has prioritized public welfare, allocating more than 80 percent of its fiscal revenue to social programs. Authorities have renovated 23 old neighborhoods and resolved property certificate delays for 16,700 households, Wang said.

A 206-million-yuan heating network upgrade ensured indoor temperatures stayed above 20 C in winter.

Meanwhile, employment initiatives created 11,100 urban jobs this year, with 245,000 rural workers finding work in cities.

Looking ahead, Wuzhong will continue strengthening its high-quality development momentum and advancing Chinese modernization efforts in the region, Wang said.