President Xi Jinping has underlined the need to uphold the people-centered philosophy in formulating the country's next five-year development plan, which begins in 2021, urging efforts to improve the weak links concerning people's livelihoods while also striving for high-quality growth.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remark during a meeting with grassroots-level representatives during his three-day inspection tour of Hunan province, which concluded on Friday.

"When planning development for the next five years, we must insist that development is for the people with the benefits shared by the people," Xi said, adding that efforts should be made to enhance the people's sense of fulfillment, happiness and security.

The meeting, which was held on Thursday in Changsha, the provincial capital, was part of Xi's series of meetings to solicit public opinion on the formulation of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25), which will be discussed next month at the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th CPC Central Committee.

Xi has already held a series of meetings with people from various sectors, including economists, social experts, entrepreneurs, scientists and professionals from non-Party groups, to collect suggestions from the public on the national development plan.

Online surveys were also conducted to seek opinions from the public, with some of them having been delivered to him, according to Xi.

During Thursday's meeting, 10 grassroots-level local representatives, including an agricultural cooperative manager, a truck driver, a restaurant owner, an entrepreneur and a schoolteacher, offered their suggestions on issues including rural education, poverty alleviation through industrial support and the development of micro and small businesses.

Noting that their ideas better reflect grassroots-level realities, Xi urged related departments to carefully study and fully consider their suggestions.

He stressed that "realizing people's aspirations to live a better life is the goal we strive for", and encouraged the public to offer advice and suggestions on compiling the plan through various channels to ensure that it responds to the wishes of the people and meets their expectations.

Speaking of China's development, Xi said the country is still in an important period of strategic opportunity for its development, but has to adapt to the changes it faces.

Given the complex international situation resulting from unilateralism, protectionism, anti-globalization as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has to seek development in a world with greater instability and uncertainty, he said.

China has entered a stage of high-quality development with good prospects, Xi said, however, inadequate and unbalanced development remains a prominent problem and many weak links remain.

"In the face of the difficulties, obstacles and uncertainties, we can neither dodge them nor be panicked by them," he said.

He called for efforts to coordinate development and security, and step up the establishment of the new development pattern with the domestic market as the mainstay and the domestic and international markets complementing each other.

Xi also emphasized consolidating governance at the grassroots level, uniting and guiding the people to give full play to their enthusiasm, initiative and creativity, and upholding social stability.