Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called for efforts to facilitate the clean and low-carbon development of the coal industry to advance the country's goals of carbon peaking and neutrality. 

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the remarks during his two-day visit to north China's Shanxi Province, a leading coal-producing region of the country. 

"Carbon peaking and carbon neutrality are not something asked of us, but something we are doing on our own initiative," Xi said when inspecting a company in Jinzhong City that has made progress in the clean and efficient utilization of coal in recent years. He visited an intelligent fuel management center, a laboratory and a coal yard. 

China has set targets to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. 

Xi underscored the fact that China is rich in coal but relatively poor in oil and gas resources. He called for strengthening domestic energy production, ensuring the supply of coal and facilitating the clean and low-carbon development of the coal industry. 

Efforts should be made to accelerate green and low-carbon technological breakthroughs and continuously upgrade China's industrial structure to achieve the goals of carbon peaking and neutrality proactively and steadily, Xi said. 

The supply of power and heat is vital to the overall economic development and social stability, he said. 

The president urged major enterprises, especially state-owned enterprises, to lead by example in maintaining the stability of supply and prices to ensure that people stay safe and warm in winter. 

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President Xi's inspection tour in Shanxi, which started on Wednesday, came a few days ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year, also known as the Spring Festival. He extended greetings to all Chinese people. 

This year's Spring Festival falls on February 1. 

Xi, as the CPC's top leader, has for 10 consecutive years visited people at the grassroots level, especially those from disadvantaged groups, ahead of the Spring Festival, the biggest holiday in the country, an occasion for family reunion. 

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On Wednesday, he visited residents of Fengnanyuan Village in Huozhou, Linfen City, one of the places hit hard by floods last October. He learned about local post-disaster reconstruction, crop replanting, improvements to the local disaster relief and emergency response system, and measures to keep people warm in the winter. 

Later that afternoon, Xi went to Duancun Village in Fenxi County. In a villager's home, he checked the kitchen, the bedroom and the sheepfold, and asked about the family's income and life.

Xi was pleased to learn that the family, after shaking off poverty in late 2016, has prospered through raising sheep and seeking job in other places. 

"The CPC's resolve to ensure all Chinese people live happy lives has remained unchanged for more than a century, and it will not falter," he said. 

Speaking in front of the villagers at a local square, he urged efforts to consolidate the achievements of poverty eradication, advance rural vitalization and improve people's lives. 

Xi toured the ancient town of Pingyao in Jinzhong City on Thursday. Pingyao is one of the best-preserved ancient walled cities in China and a UNESCO world heritage site. 

He called for more efforts to conserve the country's cultural heritage and protect "the valuable treasure left to us by our ancestors." 

(With input from Xinhua)