KUNMING, March 22 (Xinhua) -- During a recent inspection tour in southwest China's Yunnan Province, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, emphasized that Yunnan must earnestly implement the CPC Central Committee's strategic arrangements for the development of the country's western region and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, fully and faithfully apply the new development philosophy on all fronts, act on the general principle of pursuing progress while ensuring stability, and strive to promote high-quality development. By emancipating the mind and promoting reform and innovation, the province should forge ahead and take concrete actions to break new ground in its development in the process of Chinese modernization.

On March 19 and 20, Xi inspected the city of Lijiang and the provincial capital, Kunming, accompanied by Wang Ning, secretary of the CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee, and Wang Yubo, governor of the province.

On the afternoon of March 19, Xi visited a modern floriculture industrial park in Lijiang. In the exhibition hall, he examined displays of fresh-cut roses and calla lilies, and listened to a briefing on the development of Yunnan's flower industry. In the rose cultivation area, he learned about smart greenhouse soilless cultivation technology and engaged in amiable conversations with villagers and technicians working on the site. He also visited the rose grading and packaging production line, examining the entire workflow from sorting and grading to packaging and shipment. He praised the efficient logistics system that ensures the timely distribution of fresh-cut flowers to target markets. Xi said that Yunnan's flower industry has broad prospects, and the province should develop the whole industrial chain and make meticulous efforts in seed production, cultivation and marketing, thereby turning this "beautiful industry" into one that brings happiness and benefits to the people.

With a history of over 800 years, the Old Town of Lijiang was inscribed on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. After a spring snowfall, the town was teeming with tourists. Here, Xi learned in detail about the history of the ancient town, the distinctive dwellings of the Naxi ethnic group, as well as local efforts to protect and utilize cultural heritage and promote the integrated development of culture and tourism. Local residents and tourists were thrilled to see Xi and eagerly greeted him, with some playing musical instruments, singing or dancing to welcome him. Xi chatted with them, asking about the business of the shops and the experience of tourists. He stressed the need to strike a balance between protection and development to make the beautiful old town shine with new vigor and vitality.

The Chieftain Mansion of the Mus, or the Mu's Mansion, in the old town bears witness to the history of interactions, exchanges and integration among different ethnic groups in the southwestern region. Xi inspected the main buildings of the mansion and visited an exhibition on the research achievements of the Dongba culture of the Naxi ethnic group. He emphasized the importance of protecting and utilizing significant cultural landmarks like the Mu's Mansion, preserving and passing on the fine traditional Chinese culture, guiding all ethnic groups to consciously strengthen the sense of community for the Chinese nation, and continuously advancing the building of the community of the Chinese nation.

Many residents and tourists gathered around to see the general secretary off as he was about to leave. Xi, in an encouraging tone, said that with its beautiful scenery, unique culture and high popularity, Lijiang will surely find a sustainable and healthy path for developing cultural tourism. He wished the people of Lijiang happiness, good health and a harmonious life -- just like the Naxi people's surname "He," which means harmony.

On the morning of March 20, Xi heard a briefing on the work of the CPC Yunnan Provincial Committee and the provincial government. He acknowledged the achievements Yunnan has made in various aspects, and made requirements for its future work.

Xi pointed out that promoting industrial transformation and upgrading is a key task for high-quality development. Given the differences in resource endowments and basic conditions of different regions, advancing industrial transformation and upgrading must be based on local conditions, follow the laws of economics, and leverage each region's unique strengths. Yunnan should take scientific and technological innovation as a driving force to strengthen, optimize and expand resource-based industries, and actively develop strategic emerging industries and future industries. It should accelerate the development of distinctive plateau agriculture and cultural tourism industry to raise industrial output, enterprises' efficiency and the people's incomes. It should actively explore a benefit-sharing mechanism, and receive industries transferred from other regions in an orderly manner.

Xi stressed that Yunnan, with its unique geographical location, should actively promote high-standard opening up to build itself into a center of opening up toward South and Southeast Asia. The province must advance the high-quality development of the pilot free trade zone and strengthen the building of major corridors in transportation, logistics, energy and digital information, thus transforming open platforms into economic growth engines. The province should also strengthen exchanges and cooperation with neighboring countries in fields such as economy, science and technology, talent, healthcare and culture to make the benefits of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation more tangible.

Highlighting Yunnan's vital ecological role, Xi urged the province to resolutely pursue a green development path that prioritizes ecological conservation to cement the ecological security barrier in southwest China. It is imperative to establish a nature reserve system with national parks as the mainstay, enhance ecosystem conservation and restoration, and comprehensively address challenges such as stony deserts, soil erosion and small watershed degradation. The province must strengthen the coordination between regulating the use of territorial space and boosting region-specific management and control of the ecological environment, while steadily advancing pollution prevention and control in key sectors and promoting environmental governance of key lakes.

Xi stressed that with rich ethnic diversity, Yunnan should strengthen governance in border areas with diverse ethnic groups, broaden practical paths for the all-around integration of different ethnic groups, and sustain efforts to boost the border economy and improve living standards for residents there in the new era, thereby effectively safeguarding ethnic unity and frontier stability.

Xi pointed out that the Party's leadership is the fundamental guarantee for the advancement of all endeavors. The quality of the political ecosystem is a key measure of the effectiveness of the Party's leadership and Party building in a region. Leading officials at all levels must effectively fulfill their responsibilities for governance over the Party, maintain integrity and fairness in their actions, and lead by example to continuously improve the political ecosystem. Party organizations at all levels must strengthen the education and management of Party members and officials, rigorously investigate and punish violations of rules and discipline, and ensure that misconduct has no breeding ground. The CPC Central Committee has initiated a Party-wide education campaign to thoroughly implement the central Party leadership's eight-point decision on improving conduct. Party organizations at all levels, along with Party members and officials, must consciously strengthen their sense of responsibility and urgency in learning and education during this campaign. They should keep in mind the situation and tasks of exercising full and rigorous Party self-governance, and the specific practices of improving conduct in their own areas, departments and units in recent years, and further understand the guiding principles of the eight-point rules and their implementation guidelines. Additionally, they must familiarize themselves with the relevant disciplinary regulations to lay a solid ideological and political foundation for identifying issues and conducting focused rectification. It is essential to coordinate efforts to rectify misconduct, enforce discipline and combat corruption. Efforts should also be made to encourage Party members and officials to be proactive in their work while consciously abiding by rules and discipline.

Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, accompanied Xi on the inspection tour.

He Lifeng and leading officials of relevant central Party and government departments also joined the inspection tour.

On the morning of March 20, Xi met with military officers of colonel rank and above, and representatives of primary-level model soldiers and civilian personnel from the Chinese People's Liberation Army troops stationed in Kunming. On behalf of the CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission, he extended sincere greetings to all officers and soldiers of the stationed troops, and joined those present for a group photo. Enditem