BEIJING — The Chinese government has allocated 4.6 billion yuan (around $660 million) this year for development in ethnic areas, an increase of 15 percent from 2015, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission said on Dec 22.

Chinese ethnic areas consist of eight provincial-level regions, including Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region and Tibet autonomous region.

In the first three quarters of 2016, eight ethnic regions had higher major economic indicators than those of eastern provinces, the commission announced at a meeting held on Dec 22.

Tibet and Guizhou were among the top three nationwide in terms of regional GDP growth.

While addressing the meeting, Vice-Premier Liu Yandong called for better poverty relief efforts and public services in ethnic areas to safeguard ethnic solidarity and social stability.