Xi stresses leveraging national development strategies to advance Chinese modernization in Anhui

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged east China's Anhui Province to apply the new development philosophy on all fronts and leverage its role in multiple national development strategies to write an Anhui chapter in Chinese modernization.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during an inspection tour of the province from Thursday to Friday.

On Friday morning, Xi listened to the work report from the CPC Anhui Provincial Committee and the provincial government.

Xi pointed out that efforts should be made to accelerate sci-tech innovation and industrial transformation and upgrading. This includes building national laboratories and the Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center at a high level so as to effectively play their role as high-level platforms for scientific and technological innovation, strengthening innovation in key common technologies, cutting-edge leading technologies, modern engineering technologies, and disruptive technologies, expanding international scientific and technological exchanges and cooperation, and continuously improving capacity for original innovation.

Xi said that the systems and mechanisms for supporting comprehensive innovation should be established, the systems and mechanisms for promoting education and sci-tech talents should be reformed in a unified and integrated way, the policies and mechanisms for finance to support sci-tech innovation should be improved, and the innovation chain, industrial chain, capital chain and talent chain should be deeply integrated.

The real economy should be maintained as the foundation for growth, Xi said, adding that efforts should be made to accelerate the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, strengthen strategic emerging industries, advance the layout of future industries, develop new quality productive forces in light of local conditions, and build advanced manufacturing clusters with international competitiveness.

It's also necessary to reduce carbon emissions and pollution, and promote green development and growth at the same time, promote ecological protection and restoration and improve the ecological environment systematically, and improve capacity for disaster prevention, mitigation and relief, Xi said.

Xi stressed that in-depth reform and high-level opening up should be advanced, and the province should have the courage to carry out innovative and differentiated reforms and develop itself into a new pacesetter in opening up the inland.

Xi called for efforts to uphold and fulfill the commitments to the public and non-public sectors, so as to fully stimulate the vitality of various business entities; advance reforms for the market-based allocation of production factors, so as to foster a world-class business environment that is market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized.

Xi urged coordinated development of regions within the province driven by further integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta, so that the province will play a greater role in the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the rise of the central region.

The province should actively participate in high-quality Belt and Road cooperation, make solid progress in the reforms to integrate domestic and foreign trade, step up efforts to attract and stabilize foreign investment, and accelerate the cultivation of new growth drivers for foreign trade, Xi said.

Xi called for efforts to build a new model of integrated urban-rural development. This includes establishing a modern grain industry system, production system, and management system, steadily promoting the construction of high-standard farmland, building Anhui into a granary for the Yangtze River and Huai River basins, and firmly shouldering the responsibility of grain supply.

The province should launch trials on extending rural land contracts by another 30 years upon the expiration of second-round contracts, improve policies to strengthen agriculture, benefit farmers, and enrich rural areas, so as to stimulate farmers' enthusiasm for grain production, Xi said.

Efforts should be made to vigorously develop the cultivation of distinctive and green agricultural products, promote the upgrading of rural industries that benefit local people, improve the overall benefit of agriculture, and boost new types of rural collective economies, Xi said.

Rural living environment should continue to be improved for the building of beautiful countryside, Xi said.

The province should strengthen urbanization that is centered on county seats, expand county economies, ensure the employment of key groups, improve policies to provide regular assistance to low-income rural people, forestall any mass relapse into poverty, and expand rural coverage of education, medical care, old-age care, social security and public culture services, Xi said.

Xi stressed that the province should further promote the integrated development of culture and tourism, and develop cultural tourism to be a pillar industry.

Xi stressed that it is necessary to improve economic work in the fourth quarter, earnestly implement the policies and measures set by the CPC Central Committee, and strive to achieve the annual economic and social development goals.

Xi stresses leveraging national development strategies to advance Chinese modernization in Anhui

Xi stresses leveraging national development strategies to advance Chinese modernization in Anhui

Xi stresses leveraging national development strategies to advance Chinese modernization in Anhui

Xi stresses leveraging national development strategies to advance Chinese modernization in Anhui

Iran's Minister of Science, Research and Technology Hossein Simaei-Sarraf on Saturday condemned the United States and Israel for attacking Iranian academic institutions and research facilities, saying that more than 30 universities across the country have been directly targeted since the war started in late February.

The official made the condemnation when speaking to reporters at the site of the damaged Shahid Beheshti University in the Iranian capital Tehran.

Simaei-Sarraf said five university professors and more than 60 students had been killed in the strikes so far, describing attacks on Iranian infrastructure as "crimes against humanity."

Those killed include Saeed Shamghadri, an associate professor at the Iran University of Science and Technology. "Since the war started, five university professors, including Professor Shamghadri, and more than 60 university students have been killed. As I mentioned before, more than 30 universities in Iran have been attacked. It is unbelievable that in an era when democratic values, rights, international law, and human rights are being promoted, the most obvious of these rights are being trampled, violated, and attacked," said Simaei-Sarraf.

An U.S.-Israeli air raid hit the laser and plasma research center of the Shahid Beheshti University on Friday, destroying the interior of the entire building and shattering all the windows. The force of the strike also shattered almost all the windows on another building about 100 meters away from the explosion site.

A researcher at the university said it is incomprehensible that such a facility could become a target of attacks.

"You can see that there's neither any military personnel or military activity here. This is a place where only research was being conducted. Why did it become a target of attacks? What was the motive for this crime?" Azimi, the researcher, said in an interview with China Media Group.

Since the U.S.-Israeli strikes against Iran started, the Iranian government has repeatedly denounced the two countries for targeting the country's academic institutions and research facilities, calling such attacks serious war crimes.

Iranian official condemns U.S.-Israeli strikes on universities