President's nationwide trips show road to the future

High-quality growth

Behind the emphasis placed by Xi on advancing regional integration is the nation's strong commitment to moving forward with its common prosperity drive and fostering a new development pattern.

Ma Liang, a professor of public administration at Renmin University of China, said furthering major strategies for integrated regional development will help China narrow the divide between different areas and press ahead with high-quality development.

"Regional integration has been a key part of the experience during China's successful poverty alleviation campaign, as it enables different regions to apply their comparative strengths," he said.

In 2022, GDP in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and the Yangtze River Delta reached 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) and 29 trillion yuan, respectively, while in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area it stood at 10.46 trillion yuan, making the regions cornerstones of the Chinese economy and key sources of high-quality development.

As Xi inspected China's more affluent eastern regions, he voiced earnest expectations for them to lead in modernizing the nation and pave the way for high-quality growth.

During a trip to Shanghai from Nov 28 to Dec 2, he called for the Yangtze River Delta, which comprises Shanghai and Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces, to better lead the nation on the path to modernization.

He highlighted the significance of integrated development in the region, one of China's major industrial powerhouses, to further enhance its innovation capabilities, industrial competitiveness, development levels, and lead the way in forming a new pattern of higher-level reform and opening-up for China.

While traveling to Heilongjiang province in September, Xi said pushing forward the Chinese path to modernization would require the northeastern region to enhance its role as a strategic pillar.

The northeast, although confronted by population outflows and slowdowns in economic growth in recent years, has remained a key region for ensuring the nation's food security. In 2022, the three northeastern provinces of Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang accounted for more than 20 percent of China's total food production.

Xi laid out requirements for the northeast to press ahead with industrial innovation through innovation in science and technology, stressing that the foundation for the region's revitalization lies in the real economy.

Common prosperity

The president showed particular concern for public well-being during his fact-finding trips, as he twice visited groups hit hard by natural disasters to reassure them of the government's commitment to providing relief.

"I always keep disaster-affected people in my thoughts," he told households struck by summer floods in Heilongjiang.

To help families get through the long and arduous winters in the northeast, Xi reiterated the need for the authorities to adopt meticulous measures to ensure access to food, drinking water, housing, transportation, jobs and education.

In November, he inspected regions hit by summer floods and geological disasters in Beijing and neighboring Hebei province, before the arrival of winter in northern China.

He spent a whole day on the road, reviewing the reconstruction of disaster-affected villages, homes, schools and water conservation projects.

The Communist Party of China serves the people and always regards them as the highest priority, and it will spare no effort, whether it is in emergency response and disaster relief, or post-disaster recovery and reconstruction, Xi told the families.

Wang Feng, a scholar of Party governance at Beijing Normal University, said Xi's particular concern for vulnerable groups is in line with the Party's founding mission.

"Inquiring about the well-being of the people in terms of their clothing, food, housing, transportation and safety vividly illustrates the profound care for the people from the leader of a great nation," he said.

For some businesses, Xi's trips served as assurances that the nation remains committed to reform and opening-up.

During his trip to Guangdong province, Xi visited LG Display's manufacturing base in Guangzhou and GAC Aion New Energy Automobile Co, inspecting production lines and product displays, and speaking with executives and workers.

He said he hoped foreign investors could seize the opportunity and build up their presence in China in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, further explore the Chinese market, and make new breakthroughs in their development.

He stressed that China must prevent any weakening of its real economy in its modernization process.

Zeng Qinghong, chairman of GAC Group, the parent company of GAC Aion, said after the trip that the president gave the company a "great boost in confidence at a critical juncture for development of the auto sector and high-end manufacturing".

Xi's strong emphasis on China's food security and self-reliance in agriculture has also strengthened farmers' confidence in expanding the scale of their operations.

Mo, the farmer in Laibin, said he is planning to expand his sugar cane plantation from three hectares to 20 hectares in the near future.

"It was a moment of glory for me to receive recognition from the president. With full backing from the government, the prospects for growing sugar cane are even brighter," he added.