SHIJIAZHUANG - President Xi Jinping has called for efforts to reach new heights in the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and to make it a pioneer and example in pursuing Chinese modernization.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks as he inspected Hebei province and presided over a meeting on promoting the coordinated development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

On Thursday and Friday, Xi went to the cities of Cangzhou and Shijiazhuang, where he visited the countryside and places including a port and a research institute.

On Thursday morning, Xi visited Cangzhou city, where he learned about the cultivation of crops that are tolerant of drought and high alkalinity at a wheat field.

Xi stressed the need to prioritize the comprehensive use of saline-alkali land, leverage the key role of scientific and technological innovation, expand the cultivation area of suitable crops and develop the intensive processing of farm products.