Xi Jinping calls for stronger mechanisms to support east-west cooperation

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has urged further efforts to boost coordinated regional development and secure solid progress in advancing common prosperity for all.

Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in recent instructions on the country's east-west cooperation program, calling for stronger mechanisms to support coordinated regional development, poverty prevention and rural revitalization.

Xi said the 30-year east-west cooperation framework has played an important role in helping reduce poverty and promoting more balanced regional growth, while also reflecting the political strengths of the Communist Party of China and the institutional advantages of China's socialist system.

Noting that 2026 marks the first year of the 15th Five-Year Plan period and the start of a more standardized phase of poverty alleviation, Xi stressed the need to summarize and apply the valuable experience gained from Fujian-Ningxia cooperation.

He urged deeper integration between eastern and western regions through industrial complementarity, personnel exchanges, technological learning and broader sharing of experience in governance and work practices, with the aim of achieving mutual benefit and shared development.

Xi also stressed the need for local governments to fully implement their responsibilities, guard against large-scale backsliding into poverty, and steadily advance rural revitalization while improving regional coordination and promoting common prosperity.

A national conference on east-west cooperation was held on Wednesday in Yinchuan, northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, where Xi's instructions were conveyed. Speaking at the conference, Vice Premier Liu Guozhong called for full implementation of the policy direction.