President calls for quicker steps in building port

President Xi Jinping underlined on Wednesday the significance of developing the Hainan Free Trade Port into a landmark project showcasing the best of China, saying that the port should give high priority to innovation at the institutional level.

In remarks made at a meeting with officials from Hainan province on Wednesday－the final day of his four-day inspection trip－Xi called for quicker steps in building a free trade port with Chinese characteristics and global influence and enabling the province to lead the way in China's reform and opening-up in the new era.

During the trip, Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, visited Sanya, Wuzhishan and Danzhou and spoke with workers from research institutions, a national park and a port, as well as residents from a village of the Li ethnic group.

He noted that the building of a free trade port in Hainan is a complex and systemic project that would be a long-term endeavor.

The development of the Hainan Free Trade Port was proposed by Xi in 2018 at a meeting marking the 30th anniversary of the Hainan Special Economic Zone.

China unveiled a master plan for the construction of a free trade port in June 2020, aiming to build the island into a free trade port with global influence by the middle of the century.

The free trade port is set to introduce islandwide customs clearance operations by 2025.

Xi highlighted the need to uphold the Party's leadership, the correct political orientation and socialism with Chinese characteristics, saying that unwavering efforts must be made to safeguard national security and identify and prevent key risks.

He pinpointed the implementation of the new development philosophy and promoting high-quality development as the fundamental solution to spurring the growth of the province.

It is important to focus on the development of the tourism, modern services and high-tech sectors and high-efficiency tropical agriculture, and quicken steps to develop a modern industry system, he said.

The president called for stepping up reform of the system of science and technology and promoting the commercialization of innovation outcomes, saying that progress should be made in coordination between urban and rural areas.

Supply-side structural reform in the agricultural sector must be deepened, and whole-industry-chain development of the sector must be strengthened, he said, adding that authorities must adopt stringent measures in the protection of the environment and permanent farmland, and in controlling the boundaries of urban development.

The province must put in place the strictest measures to prevent land reclamation and the development of shorelines, Xi said.

He said that the Tropical Rainforest National Park in the province, among the first group of national parks established by China last year, is a national treasure, a key water and grain reserve, a source of wealth and an important carbon sink.

Local authorities must come up with more measures to improve the people's well-being, help the people solve issues that trouble them most and actively explore pathways to common prosperity, he said, adding that more policies must be rolled out to stabilize payrolls and create jobs.

Xi underlined the necessity for the province to take advantage of its rich revolutionary history and guide Party members to firm up their beliefs and pass on the revolutionary traditions.

In keeping up the momentum of the battle against corruption, the president urged coordinated steps to create a deterrent against corruption, strengthen measures to prevent wrongdoings and build up moral defenses among officials, adding that the system must be improved in areas including land sales, real estate development and attracting investment.

With the COVID-19 pandemic still ravaging globally, Xi said the nation cannot afford any complacency in its containment measures, adding that perseverance means victory.

He reiterated the need to put people and their lives first, prevent the importing of cases and domestic resurgence and uphold the dynamic zero-COVID policy in a scientific and targeted manner.

Xi warned against complacency, war-weariness or any degree of negligence, saying that the capacity to contain the pandemic must be bolstered in keeping with the mutations of the virus.

He called for authorities to improve their contingency plans, put in place stringent normalized containment measures and try their best to minimize the influence of outbreaks on social and economic development.