China should implement the strategic plans for ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River basin and unswervingly follow the path of modernization that gives priority to ecology and green development, President Xi Jinping said on Friday.

He made the remarks while addressing a symposium in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, after his three-day inspection tour of the region. 

The Yellow River is the second-longest river in China, measuring 5,464 km in length, and the Yellow River basin is an important ecological barrier that is strategically significant for the country's national development and modernization.