Chinese President Xi Jinping stressed the significance of the real economy, ecological protection and rural revitalization during his inspection tour in central China's Henan Province from Monday to Wednesday.

Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, called for greater efforts to promote the continuous and healthy development of the economy as well as social harmony and stability, so as to greet the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China (PRC) with great achievements.

Xi pointed out that although China has the largest manufacturing industry in the world, efforts are still needed in realizing industrial transformation and upgrade through innovation during the inspection of a manufacturing enterprise in Zhengzhou.

He called for technical and industrial innovation to move China's manufacturing up in the industrial chain.

Xi further stressed the importance of technical and industrial innovation as a vehicle to improve the country's manufacturing.

"Now that you've found the way, you can act boldly," Xi told villagers in an oil-seed camellia plantation in Guangshan County, noting that planting oil-seed camellia is green, environmentally friendly and ecologically sound, a good way to boost economic development and increase farmers' income.

"Rural revitalization is not always about demolition and reconstruction," Xi said. "It is about upgrading the facilities of traditional villages with distinctive features to make them more modern and convenient to use, so that hot showers are available and the countryside is clean and beautiful."

The president also stressed the role of e-commerce in rural poverty reduction and rural revitalization.

China's rural areas have become bright spots in the country's e-commerce growth. Rural online retail sales totaled 777.1 billion yuan (about 109.9 billion U.S. dollars) in H1, surging 21 percent year on year, according to data from the Ministry of Commerce.

When inspecting ecological protection of the Yellow River at a national geopark, President Xi demanded stepped-up efforts to protect the environment, properly balance the relationship between development and environmental protection, and promote the industrial upgrading and energy structure transformation.

The president also called for keeping firmly in mind the origin of the "red political power," striving to achieve the two centenary goals and improving people's well-being during his inspection tour.

The two centenary goals are to finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects by the time the CPC marks its centenary and to build China into a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, and harmonious by the time the PRC celebrates its centenary.

During the inspection tour, Xi also met with senior military officers of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) stationed in Henan.