Xi stresses sound governance, high-quality development in border areas

BEIJING -- Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, has stressed the importance of enhancing governance and boosting high-quality development in the country's border areas.

Modernizing the system and capacity for governance in these areas is an integral part of Chinese modernization, Xi said while presiding over a group study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on Monday.

It is essential to uphold the Party's overall leadership in all aspects and throughout the entire process of governance in border areas, Xi said, stressing the need to incorporate governance in these areas into the development of various domains.

"No border area shall be left behind in advancing Chinese modernization," he said.

Xi emphasized the country's commitment to supporting border areas in leveraging their unique advantages to achieve high-quality development as they integrate into the new development pattern and the unified national market.

He urged border areas to increase the momentum and vitality of development through reform and opening up, and take advantage of their coastal and frontier locations to build themselves into pacesetters for opening up.

Xi underscored the need to pursue urban-rural integrated development, and ensure and improve the people's well-being in the course of pursuing development in border areas.

Advancing the building of a community for the Chinese nation should be the focus of work related to border areas with large ethnic minority populations, Xi said.

Xi also highlighted the necessity of comprehensively promoting standard spoken and written Chinese and the use of unified state-compiled textbooks.

It is essential to prioritize national security and social stability as the bottom-line requirement for governance in border areas, Xi added, urging efforts to improve the effectiveness of social governance in these areas.

Xi called for accelerating the development of an independent Chinese knowledge system for borderland studies, and deepening research into major theoretical and practical issues related to governance in border areas.