Chinese President Xi Jinping visits a village of the Wa ethnic group to extend his Chinese New Year's greetings to the villagers in Qingshui Township of the city of Tengchong, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 19, 2020. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)
BEIJING, Jan. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded Tuesday his latest pre-Spring Festival inspection tour in the southwestern province of Yunnan, an ethnically diverse province long stricken by poverty. His interactions with local residents have impressed the public deeply.
Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, has made it a tradition to visit ordinary people across the country ahead of Spring Festival, the most important holiday in the Chinese lunar calendar.
He visited northwestern Gansu Province in 2013, northern Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in 2014, northwestern Shaanxi Province in 2015, eastern Jiangxi Province in 2016, northern Hebei Province in 2017, southwestern Sichuan Province in 2018 and Beijing in 2019.
There has been a consistent theme throughout the years: a people-centered philosophy. As Xi has said, "Our people are the solid foundation of the country, and are our main source of confidence as the ruling party."
China sets 2020 as the target year to eliminate absolute poverty. The task becomes more difficult as the deadline approaches.
During his trips, Xi's talks about residents' living conditions always went into detail. Sometimes, he would go to farmers' barns and kitchens, calculated revenues and expenses with villagers and offered advice on increasing income.
In his Yunnan tour this year, he visited Sanjia Village in the city of Tengchong, learning about poverty alleviation efforts and calling for accelerated development of ethnic minorities and areas with large ethnic minority populations.
Chinese President Xi Jinping joins local villagers in making rice cakes, a traditional local festival food, in Sanjia Village in the city of Tengchong, southwest China's Yunnan Province, Jan. 19, 2020. (Xinhua/Ju Peng)
The calls and moves of Xi have inspired the nation to mobilize all the resources to fight the battle against poverty, more effectively and precisely, so that no one will be left behind on the way to a moderately prosperous society in all respects.
Eliminating poverty is far from the end. The needs to be met for the people to live better lives are increasingly broad. Besides growing material and cultural needs, their demands for democracy, rule of law, fairness and justice, security and a better environment are also increasing.
That is why Xi, during his trips, also discussed issues about education, jobs, food safety, healthcare, social security and environmental protection. All of these areas concern people's wellbeing and their sense of gain.
China's leadership is fully aware that China remains the world's largest developing country. Development remains the top priority for the country. Much work needs to be done to promote well-rounded human development and all-round social progress. These efforts will determine whether the CPC has kept its promise to make people's lives better. ■
