Gansu officials have high hopes that the new government will be more supportive of the push to develop the western provinces.
Both Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao, who will become president, and Vice-Premier Wen Jiabao, who will be premier, began their political careers in Gansu.
Mr Wen worked for the provincial geology bureau from 1980 to 1981 while Mr Hu spent more than a decade in Gansu's hydro power stations and at the provincial construction commission.
Speaking on the sidelines of an NPC discussion group yesterday, Zhang Zhiying, mayor of the provincial capital of Lanzhou, said Mr Wen showed a strong interest in the western region on his visits or listened to reports from Gansu officials.
'They have worked during a difficult period in Gansu and they know Gansu well,' he said.
He said Mr Wen attended the group discussion by Gansu delegates the day after Premier Zhu Rongji delivered his work report and told the delegates to redouble efforts in environmental protection and industrial and agricultural development.
