Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, waves to villagers while visiting the Zhaoxing Dong Village in Liping county of Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Southwest China's Guizhou Province, on March 17, 2025. Xi made an inspection tour in Guizhou Province from Monday to Tuesday. Photo: Xinhua

Chinese President Xi Jinping has stressed the importance of adhering to high-quality development and driving growth by further deepening reform and opening-up comprehensively, during his inspection in Southwest China's Guizhou Province from Monday to Tuesday, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, called on the province to firm up confidence, work hard, and take steady steps to advance Chinese modernization, Xinhua reported.

This is the first local inspection by the General Secretary after this year's national two sessions, state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) reported on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Xi visited the provincial capital Guiyang, where he heard the provincial authorities report their work.

Xi underscored the need to strengthen innovation-driven development with the real economy as the foundation. He called for actively developing strategic emerging industries and enhancing industries such as the digital economy and new energy.

The Chinese leader noted that achieving high-quality development requires unwavering adherence to the Party's leadership.

Crucial role, immense potentials

During Xi's inspection, the Chinese leader called on the province to earnestly implement the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China's strategic plans for the large-scale development of the country's western region and the Yangtze River Economic Belt, Xinhua reported.

The Chinese leader's remarks and the inspection tour highlighted the great importance the leader attaches to the development of the western region, which covers more than 70 percent of China's land area and is home to nearly 30 percent of the country's population, experts said. The region plays a critical role in China's pursuit of high-quality development and Chinese modernization, and holds great potential in various areas.

The Chinese leader's remarks during his visit to Guizhou further underscored the vital importance of the western region in the nation's strategy to strengthen both security and development, while also highlighting its significant potential in fields like advanced manufacturing and high-level openness, Li Chang'an, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies at the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times.

The country's vast western region covers 12 provincial-level regions including Guizhou, Chongqing, Gansu, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Xizang Autonomous Region and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, according to a Xinhua report. 

After years of development, Guizhou has evolved into a national big data hub, with increasing investment in new infrastructure such as data centers, Xinhua reported.

The province's GDP amounted to 2.266 trillion yuan in 2024, a 5.3 percent increase from 2023, calculated at constant prices.

"In recent years, China's western region has seen considerable progress in infrastructure, industrial upgrades, and the improvement of people's livelihoods," Hu Qimu, a deputy secretary-general of the digital-real economies integration Forum 50, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

The western region has established 9 national-level strategic emerging industry clusters and 13 national-level advanced manufacturing industry clusters. In 2024, the region accelerated the formation of new quality productive forces, such as a 25 percent increase in the number of science and technology-based small and medium-sized enterprises and a 15 percent increase in high-tech enterprises in Northwest China's Shaanxi, Xinhua reported. Emerging industries in Southwest China's Sichuan, including artificial intelligence, biotechnology, drones, and nuclear technology applications, have experienced rapid growth.

"As an important part of the western region, Guizhou has strengths in both the technology and cultural tourism sectors. As these industries evolve, they should be further integrated into the national strategy to help the province better tap into high-quality resources from surrounding regions," Hu said, noting the approach will enhance Guizhou's development and inject new momentum into the high-quality growth of China's western region as a whole.

Cultural preservation stressed

During his inspection in Guizhou, Xi stressed that areas with large ethnic minority populations should preserve their distinctive culture and let it shine through the integrated development of culture and tourism, Xinhua reported.

Xi made the remarks on Monday when inspecting Liping county, Southwest China's Guizhou Province, per the report.

When visiting the Zhaoxing Dong Village in the county, Xi and villagers sat around a firepit to discuss all-around rural revitalization at a drum tower, a unique architecture for the Dong ethnic group that serves as a communal gathering spot.

Tourism has become a major industry and rural tourism is thriving, Xi said, wishing the villagers' lives to grow more prosperous with each passing day.

Xi watched a performance of the grand song of the Dong ethnic group, a form of a folk chorus inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage list, in the Zhaoxing Dong Village in Liping county.

He also explored the features of the village, visited the Dong culture exhibition center, and inspected a local base of special industry featuring weaving, dyeing and embroidery.

"Stilt houses, ancient villages, intangible cultural heritage instruments, the grand song of the Dong people, and batik craftsmanship all embody the unique charm of this ethnic culture -- both deeply traditional and remarkably stylish," Xi said. 

"Performing the grand song is a great opportunity to present and promote the Dong culture," Zhong Shengli, one of the performers on Monday, told the Global Times. 

The grand song of the Dong ethnic group boasts a rich history as a unique form of a folk chorus performed without the aid of musical instruments or a lead singer. Through its beautiful melody, the choir conveys different stories, emotions and insightful lyrics, Zhong explained. 

In the past year, the cultural and tourism industry in Guizhou has developed significantly. In 2024 alone, the number of tourists and tourism revenue in the province both saw double-digit growth, data with Guizhou tourism authorities shows.

Preserving cultural heritage is crucial for the region's development, as it serves as a driving force for cultivating tourism and other industries, Li Chang'an told the Global Times. He also said that's how Guizhou can leverage its local advantages within the broader context of the nation's development of the western region.