Xi stresses poverty alleviation in talk with delegates

Xi encouraged the people of Inner Mongolia to make more efforts to address the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development, upgrade the quality of economic growth, and promote better economic and social development.

Xi stressed the importance of preventing and resolving debt risks effectively, saying that the government should keep a close eye on the issue.

He urged more effort to protect the environment, including preventing desertification of the grasslands, protecting forests and wetlands, and preventing air, water and soil pollution, in order to build a "green great wall" on the country's northern border.

The sign indicating completion of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects is that all rural poor people are lifted out of poverty, Xi said.

The key to poverty reduction is to help those people in impoverished, densely populated places, he said.

Xi required the local government to take more effective measures for targeting poverty reduction, pay a lot of attention to villages with large poor populations, and address such key problems as industrial development, employment, infrastructure, public service and healthcare.

Xi pledged to fight corruption during poverty reduction efforts and severely punish those who embezzle poverty alleviation funds. Saying that the people hate formalism and bureaucracy in poverty reduction work, Xi urged officials to resolve such issues.

In his speech, Xi also highlighted the importance of ethnic unity. It is essential to uphold and improve regulations on autonomy in ethnic regions, Xi said, adding that the CPC's policies on ethnic regions should be fully implemented.

Xi stressed that education is of great significance in ethnic unity, and that all ethnic groups should hold together tightly like pomegranate seeds.

Socialist core values should be cultivated and practiced in all ethnic groups, and such education should be stressed from kindergarten, Xi said.

Contradicting interests among ethnic groups as well as in ethnic regions should be handled properly to build a secure and stable northern border region, Xi said.