Xi calls for furthering reform to power modernization in Shandong inspection

JINAN - Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed comprehensively deepening reform to drive Chinese modernization during an inspection trip to the eastern economic powerhouse of Shandong province.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, urged the coastal province to pursue reform-driven high-quality development and build itself into "a hub of high-level opening-up."

Shandong, a frontier of China's reform and opening-up, is now an industrial base and a major grain producer. With a population of 100 million, the province ranked third in its GDP last year among all provincial-level regions in China. Shandong is also the birthplace of Confucius.

Xi's trip to Shandong, lasting from Wednesday to Friday, is the first local inspection he has made since the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau held a meeting on April 30.

It was decided at the meeting that the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee will be held in Beijing in July, and that the session will primarily examine issues related to further comprehensively deepening reform and advancing Chinese modernization.

On Wednesday afternoon, Xi first visited Rizhao Port, where he observed automated container terminal operations.

The port, constructed after China launched the reform and opening-up drive in the late 1970s, has evolved into a modern facility over the decades, gaining valuable experience in upgrading and transforming traditional industries to foster new quality productive forces.

Later, Xi toured a coastal greenway in Rizhao to learn about local efforts in ecological restoration.

"The goal of advancing Chinese modernization is to make people's lives better and better," Xi said.

On Friday morning, he attended a meeting in Jinan, the provincial capital, to hear reports on the work of the province's Party and government authorities.