President Xi Underscores Reform, Opening-Up

President Xi Jinping underscored advancing reform and opening-up in the southern province of Hainan “from a higher perspective, with a broader vision and greater strength.”

Mr Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the statement during an inspection tour of Hainan from last Wednesday to last Friday.

He urged the province to make full use of its environmental advantages and its status as a special economic zone (SEZ) and an international tourism island, in a bid to build a “beautiful and new” Hainan.

When touring the Hainan Boao Lecheng International Medical Tourism Pilot Zone last Wednesday, Mr Xi learned about the latest development of the project and inspected state-of-the-art medical equipment including an endoscopic capsule robot. He talked to experts and stressed the importance of boosting the health sector to serve the people.

Visiting the Institute of Deep-sea Science and Engineering under the Chinese Academy of Sciences last Thursday, Mr Xi learned about China’s seabed exploration in the Mariana Trench and examined deep-sea research equipment. Mr Xi said efforts should be stepped up to build China into a strong maritime country. He said China should take advantage of the South China Sea as its best natural venue for deep-sea research and experiments.

Efforts should be made to develop deep-sea research bases and push for the development of deep-sea science and technologies, he said.

Inspecting a national seed production research base, where thousands of researchers gather every winter and spring, Mr Xi stressed that feeding more than a billion people is the biggest issue for China and good seeds are vital for increasing grain output.

Mr Xi said China should develop good crop species whose intellectual property rights it owns to safeguard the country’s food security.

Last Friday, Mr Xi visited the Hainan Museum and watched an exhibition on Hainan’s progress over the past three decades.

Photo: Xinhua Chinese President Xi Jinping talks with model workers and representatives of different occupations at a plaza of the Hainan Museum in Haikou, south China’s Hainan Province, April 13, 2018.