XIAMEN  -  President Xi Jinping yesterday urged east China’s Fujian Province to play a pioneering role in the country’s modernization drive by staying committed to its development goals.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during an inspection tour in the coastal province on Tuesday and Wednesday. Fujian should continue to make greater progress in accelerating the development of a modern economic system, Xi said.

On Tuesday afternoon, Xi inspected Dongshan County in the city of Zhangzhou, and learned about the sale of dried seafood and the fishing harvest at a local village.

Xi, who visited the village 23 years ago, said he was delighted to see that the village has undergone tremendous changes, adding that China’s countryside will surely have a brighter prospect on the new journey in the new era.

He then paid a visit to the Gu Wenchang memorial hall, where he learned about the inspiring deeds of Gu, a former Party chief of Dongshan. Calling on officials at all levels to learn from Gu, Xi asked them to win public recognition from the people they serve. At the Guandi cultural industrial park, Xi learned about local efforts in strengthening the protection of cultural heritage and promoting cultural exchanges across the Taiwan Strait. Xi visited the Xiamen Area of China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone, urging local authorities to adapt to the evolving situation, steadily promote institutional opening up, and make new achievements in expanding high-level opening up.