People of all ethnic groups in nation’s ‘big family’ should get rid of poverty

President Xi Jinping learns about local efforts in ecological conservation during his visit on June 9 to a vineyard at the foot of the Helan Mountains in Yinchuan, Ningxia Hui autonomous region. (WANG YE / XINHUA)

No ethnic group should be left behind in the country’s fight against poverty, President Xi Jinping said during his inspection tour of Northwest China’s Ningxia Hui autonomous region.

And local governments should make efforts to overcome the effects of COVID-19 and prioritize the work of bolstering employment and improving people’s livelihoods.

Xi spoke as he wrapped up a three-day inspection tour of Ningxia, a less-developed inland region, on June 10. About 37 percent of the population belongs to the Hui ethnic group.

He visited a village, a community, a section of the Yellow River, a rural ecotourism park and a vineyard to learn about work done in disease prevention, poverty reduction, environmental and ecological protection and ethnic unity.

Xi visited Jinhuayuan Community in the city of Wuzhong, home to more than 13,000 permanent residents, half of whom are from ethnic minority groups. 

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said he was glad to see that the community has good experience in maintaining harmonious relations between different ethnic groups.

The nation will leave no ethnic group behind in the process of eliminating poverty, building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and in the country’s drive toward modernization, he said. Xi instructed local authorities to take tough steps to forestall and defuse major risks, carry out targeted poverty alleviation and prevent and control pollution.

Local governments should uphold the people-centered development philosophy and help the people to address their problems, Xi said.

Xi instructed authorities to pursue high-quality growth, speed up industrial upgrading and promote economic development in quantity and quality. The government should take practical measures to ease the tax burden of enterprises, implement policies boosting domestic demand and help companies address problems in resuming production, he said.

Calling increases in domestic demand a strategic measure, Xi urged deepening of supply-side structural reform, promotion of innovation-driven development, building up of a modern agricultural system and boosting sales of Ningxia’s agricultural products.

Xi instructed local authorities to further deepen reform in all areas, seize the great opportunities in building the Belt and Road and boost opening-up to pursue higher-quality growth.

Xi reiterated the importance of upholding the concept that “lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets”, saying that the government should focus on the protection of the environment and ecological restoration of the Yellow River.

While visiting the Yellow River in Wuzhong on June 8 — his fourth visit to the river in less than a year — Xi called it the mother river of the Chinese nation and a precious resource for the development of Chinese civilization.

Ningxia authorities should shoulder their responsibilities, pay greater attention to protecting the Yellow River and coordinate major projects along the river to improve the natural environment, he said.

On June 9, Xi visited a rural ecotourism park and vineyard near the Helan Mountains to learn about the development of local agriculture and efforts to strengthen the ecological conservation of the mountains.

Planting should be adjusted to better protect water resources, he said, noting that Ningxia people have long been blessed by the Yellow River.

Contact the writers at anbaijie@chinadaily.com.cn