Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, underlined the importance of raising governance capacity in what he called modern socialist international metropolises during his inspection tour of China's economic hub Shanghai from Saturday to Sunday.

Xi, also Chinese president, called for the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta and more efforts in fighting the "three tough battles." He also expressed hope that Shanghai would take on the various challenges with the spirit of the fourth plenary session of the 19th CPC Central Committee.

In the recently concluded session, the CPC detailed a roadmap for achieving the goal of upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics and vowed to advance the modernization of China's system and governance capacity.

Read more:

Xi hails China's democracy, calls for people-centered urban development in Shanghai

Xi called on Shanghai to unite government, society and its residents with overall planning.

He urged the government to focus on problems that are of major public concerns and directly related to people's interests, and to solve them in order to enhance people's sense of gain, happiness and safety.

Noting the three major tasks the CPC Central Committee delivered to Shanghai, Xi pointed out that Shanghai needs to go through comprehensive opening-up with a higher level and wider range. Speaking of the pilot registration-based science and technology innovation board (STIB) that was newly inaugurated in Shanghai, Xi said the registration should stick to its standard and be driven by quality.

As for the integration of the Yangtze River Delta, Xi called on the three provinces and municipality to fully implement integration with a focus on major fields and projects.

Xi also underscored the importance of high-quality economic development, proposing that Shanghai take the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as an opportunity to speed up the internationalization of its financial market and to enhance its global resources allocation.

Xi made the remarks after hearing the municipal government's working reports on Sunday afternoon. Before, he inspected the city's Yangshupu Waterworks and the Gubei Civic Center on Saturday afternoon, vowing to carry out "people-centered development" in urban construction.

Xi's tour happened ahead of the second China International Import Expo (CIIE) to be held in Shanghai on November 5-10. He is expected to attend the opening ceremony and deliver a keynote speech on Tuesday.

(Cover: Chinese President Xi Jinping on an inspection tour of east China's Shanghai Municipality, November 2, 2019. /Xinhua Photo)