Chinese President Xi Jinping has underscored the ecological conservation and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin during an inspection tour in northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

 Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, came to Ningxia on Wednesday after wrapping up his inspection in Qinghai Province.

 Situated in the Yellow River basin, Ningxia is surrounded by deserts on three sides and faces the daunting task of conserving and restoring ecosystems.

Xi asked Ningxia to coordinate high-quality development with high-level environmental protection, further reform and opening up, advance new urbanization and rural revitalization, and promote ethnic unity and common prosperity.

 The autonomous region has a large ethnic minority population. On Wednesday afternoon, Xi visited a multi-ethnic residential community in the regional capital Yinchuan. Of over 18,000 residents in the community, 38 percent belong to ethnic minority groups such as Hui, Manchu, Mongolian and Tibetan.

 Xi first went to the community service center and an activity room where he watched residents practice paper-cutting and dancing, and talked with them. He called for thorough, detailed and concrete efforts to address urgent needs and concerns of the residents, and deliver high-quality services to the people.

 Xi then visited the home of resident Zhao Shoucheng, where he chatted with the Zhao family to learn more about things related to employment, income, medical insurance reimbursement, and children’s education. “I am concerned about the well-being of every family of all ethnic groups,” Xi said, extending best wishes to the Zhao family.

 At the community square, Xi spoke to the residents who gathered there to greet him. Xi said he was delighted to visit Ningxia again and meet with local people of various ethnic groups.

 “The Chinese nation is a big family,” Xi said, calling for continued efforts to foster a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation and pool strength from all sectors to advance Chinese modernization.

Xinhua