PR95442

BEIJING, April 13, 2022 /PRNewswire=KYODO JBN/ --

China has entered a stage of high-quality development, and the southern

province of Hainan is spearheading the country's efforts to balance

environmental protection and development.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has been in Hainan since Sunday, placing

ecological conservation, rural revitalization and food security high on the

agenda during his inspection.

National park system

When inspecting a section of the Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park on

Monday in the city of Wuzhishan, President Xi stressed the importance of

boosting national park development in Hainan.

He also highlighted the need to fully understand the strategic significance of

Hainan's national park development to the country, and urged continuous and

solid efforts in this regard.

Following the principle of "ecological protection first," China in 2017

unveiled the overall plan for establishing its new national park system in an

effort to promote human-nature harmony, biodiversity conservation and

sustainable development.

Last year, the Chinese leader announced the official designation of the

country's first group of national parks when delivering a keynote speech via

video link at the leaders' summit of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the

Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15). The Hainan Tropical

Rainforest National Park is one of them.

The national park spans nine cities and counties, covering a total area of over

4,000 square km. It is home to the most concentrated and well-preserved

tropical rainforests in China and the only habitat for Hainan gibbons, the

world's rarest primates.

Unlike ordinary national parks, the designated national parks are part of the

country's "red line" strategy for ecological conservation and subject to the

strictest possible protection measures.

With the national park system taking shape in the world's most populous

country, China has taken a solid step toward a future where all beings can live

in harmony and flourish through a system of protected areas with national parks

as the mainstay.

Rural revitalization in full swing

During his inspection tours across the country, the Chinese president always

stopped to chat with rural families. On Monday, he walked into the homes of

local ethnic Li people in Maona, a village in the city of Wuzhishan, and had

cordial exchanges with local officials and villagers.

In Maona's public square, the locals extended a warm welcome to Xi.

"We have attained a moderately prosperous society in all respects and are

marching toward modernization and promoting common prosperity," Xi said, urging

solid efforts to consolidate poverty alleviation achievements and align them

with the full advancement of rural revitalization.

China is continuing efforts for rural development, with the Report on the Work

of the Government released in March emphasizing boosting agricultural

production and promoting all-around rural revitalization in 2022.

Xi also called on Party officials to make "every possible effort" to ensure

that people can live happy lives, saying Party officials should not harbor any

selfish interests, and they should devote themselves to the improvement of

people's lives.

"What the Communist Party of China cares about is how to make sure the lives of

Chinese people of all ethnic groups are getting better every day."

'Chinese seeds'

China's food security can only be safeguarded when seed resources are firmly

held in our own hands, President Xi said while inspecting the city of Sanya on

Sunday, calling for working toward food self-sufficiency and advancing the

country's seed sector.

"To ensure that China's seed resources are self-supporting and under better

control, self-reliance must be achieved in seed technology," he said.

However, Xi acknowledged that the process would take time. "It takes 10 years

to sharpen a sword," said Xi, quoting a Chinese saying.

Highlighting the strategic significance of the related work, he called for

carrying forward the spirit of scientists and researchers of the older

generations, including Yuan Longping (1930-2021), who was known for developing

the first hybrid rice varieties in the 1970s and staving off hunger for

millions.

In the newly-unveiled "No. 1 Central Document," the first policy statement

released by China's central authorities this year, the country has outlined

seed industry development as one of its policy priorities, with specific moves

such as implementing an action plan on the seed industry, promoting germplasm

collection and enhancing intellectual property protection in the sector.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-04-12/Xi-inspects-Wuzhishan-in-Hainan-19aEjvCVVzG/index.html

Source: CGTN