On Wednesday, President Xi attended a panel discussion with deputies from southern China's Guangdong province. He heard their thoughts on development and innovation in the country's most populous province.

XI JINPING CHINESE PRESIDENT "Development is the first priority. Talent serves as the first resource. And creativity is the first driving force. China will not become truly strong if we do not follow the way of creative development, and our old driving forces cannot successfully convert to new ones. China must rely on creativity to become strong, and creativity comes from talent." President Xi praised Guangdong for being a pioneer in the country's process of reform and opening up and its spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship. At the 19th CPC National Congress last year, he expressed the determination to make China a country of innovators. He also stressed the importance of improving the country's innovation system, AND developing the real economy with technological innovation, with the aim of being a frontier of science and technology.