"Developing the health and pharmaceutical industry is one of our main strategies to boost the local economy," said Chen Min'er, governor of Guizhou.

Chen attended a news conference for Guizhou's health and pharmaceutical industry held in Beijing yesterday. The industry shows the province's potential and has attracted investment of 177.1 billion yuan ($28.22 billion).

Healthcare is a pillar industry in the national economy in developed countries. But China's health industry is still in its initial stage.

Guizhou, one of the main areas producing Chinese herbal medicines, boasts a pristine environment, fresh air, favorable climate and abundant natural resources. Its traditional ethnic Miao medicines topped all ethnic medicines in China.

Chen notes that Guizhou is committed to combining the health industry with cultural tourism through developing pharmaceutical production and research, health maintenance and health tourism.

"At the same time, health management is another major point. We should focus on emerging markets like telemedicine, portable medical devices and health consultations to get in on the ground floor," said Chen.

The province is expected to construct facilities for fitness, recovery and medical treatment on a PPP basis to attract social capital, enabling the public to provide large medical equipment for non-government medical institutions.