Chinese President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, urged more effective measures to protect black soil, a high nutrient soil that is the most suitable to grow crops.

President Xi on Wednesday inspected northeast China's Jilin Province and made the remarks while visiting the demonstration zone and farmers' cooperative at a green food production base in Lishu County of Siping City.

Northeast China, one of the world's three major chernozem regions, is a major area for maize and soybean farming, where black soil produces high yields but declining soil fertility remains a problem, he noted.

The local practice of returning maize straw to the farmland for mulching purposes not only increases soil organic elements but also helps prevent wind- and water-driven soil erosion and preserves soil moisture, Xi said, adding that such a model is worth promoting.

Read more: President Xi Jinping inspects NE China's Jilin Province

After learning about the area's improvement in developing agriculture and use of science and technology, Xi said he is glad to see local farmers have found a way to achieve agricultural cooperation in line with local conditions.

Specialized farmers' cooperatives are significant to China's development, said Xi, adding that diverse ways should be explored in different parts of the country to achieve agricultural cooperation.

Xi later also visited Siping Battle Memorial Hall, where he relived the history of the revolution and paid respects to the revolutionary martyrs.

The Chinese president said the Communist Party of China's (CPC) revolutionary history should be memorized and learned from so as to inherit the socialist cause founded by the CPC.

In the hinterland of northeast China, Siping City is a transportation hub of rail and road networks. As a food distribution center, Siping City has been a strategic position in history.