BEIJING - A blue print to set the development direction of the Yangtze River economic belt was jointly issued by three Chinese ministries on Wednesday.

The blue print said the economic belt should reinforce innovation,quicken the establishment of a modern industrial system and give impetus to industrial transformation and upgrading.

The Yangtze River economic belt will make breakthroughs in innovation, industrial structure and economic development by 2020, according to the document.

By 2030, the belt will lead the world in innovation and become a major engine to drive the economic transformation and upgrading of the whole country.

To achieve these goals, the economic belt should improve its capacity for innovation, accelerate the development of strategic emerging industries, develop the service industry, modernize the agricultural sector and optimize the industrial layout.

The document was jointly issued by the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Rising in Southwest China's Yunnan province and emptying into the sea at Shanghai, the Yangtze River economic belt involves nine provinces and two municipalities. It covers an area of 2.05 million square kilometers and accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's population and economic aggregate.