BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping has made important instructions on the development of rural roads that "are well built, managed, maintained and operated" in recent days. In the instructions, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, stressed that the Ministry of Transport and other central and local authorities have implemented the decisions and arrangements of the CPC Central Committee in recent years, worked with perseverance to overcome difficulties, and made marked achievements in the development of rural roads that "are well built, managed, maintained and operated." As a result, farmers' sense of gain, happiness, and security has been boosted, and rural roads have turned out to be their path to wealth, happiness, and rural revitalization, as well as the path that brings them closer to the Party and government.

Xi stressed that efforts should be continued with perseverance on the new journey in the new era. Policies, laws and regulations should be further refined, governance capacity improved, a new round of actions taken to upgrade rural roads, and the high-quality development of rural roads that "are well built, managed, maintained and operated" further advanced. This will help build a beautiful and harmonious countryside that is desirable to live and work in, and provide solid support to bring common prosperity to rural residents, advance rural revitalization across the board, speed up modernization of agriculture and rural areas, and promote Chinese modernization.

This year's meeting on promoting high-quality development of rural roads that "are well built, managed, maintained and operated" was held in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province on May 29. He Lifeng, a member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and vice premier, conveyed Xi's important instructions and delivered a speech at the meeting. He noted that Xi's important instructions charted the course of and provided fundamental guidance for the high-quality development of rural roads that "are well built, managed, maintained and operated" on the new journey in the new era. He also called for efforts to faithfully study and implement the guiding principles of Xi's important instructions, have a stronger sense of responsibility and urgency, and prioritize efforts to deliver on short- and medium-term major tasks. It is also imperative to improve the quality of road networks, strengthen the management and maintenance of the roads, boost the level of their operation, and ensure road safety. It is imperative to uphold and consolidate the Party's overall leadership, take comprehensively deepening reform as a driving force, make scientific planning in light of local conditions, and make sustained and long-term efforts, so as to continuously improve the capacity to do a good job for the development of rural roads that "are well built, managed, maintained and operated."

Those who delivered speeches at the meeting include leading officials from the Ministry of Transport, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Zhejiang Province, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Fujian Province, Guizhou Province, Hunan Province, and Gansu Province.