ZHENGZHOU - If there is one province in China that could demographically represent the world's most populous country, it might be Henan.

With more than 100 million people, the most among all the provincial-level regions, the Central China province is, like the country as a whole, facing challenges such as fast growth and low per capita income.

But Henan plans to increase its opening-up and further sharpen its competitive edges - such as a low cost of production - to catch up with other regions in the world's second largest economy, said Guo Gengmao, governor of the province.