Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, President of the People’s Republic of China and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, conducted an inspection tour in Ulanqab, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region on October 16. He stressed that green development constitutes an inherent requirement for high-quality development. It is essential to balance high-quality development with high-level ecological protection, uphold the integrated conservation and systematic governance of mountains, rivers, forests, farmlands, lakes, grasslands and sand-lands, and pursue coordinated progress in carbon reduction, pollution abatement, ecological expansion and economic growth. We must unswervingly follow a path of ecological priority and green development.

On the morning of the 16th, accompanied by Wang Weizhong, Secretary of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Party Committee, and Bao Gang, Chairman of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region People’s Government, Xi Jinping carried out inspection and research work in Ulanqab.

Huangqi Lake, located in Chahar Right Front Banner of Ulanqab, is an inland closed lake. Once on the verge of drying up due to climate and other factors, it has seen its water area gradually expand thanks to years of comprehensive governance. At the Huangqi Lake Nature Reserve, Xi Jinping listened to briefings on Inner Mongolia’s efforts to strengthen ecological and environmental protection, as well as local progress in comprehensive environmental governance and ecosystem restoration for Huangqi Lake. He also made on-site observations of waterfront beach ecosystems and bird habitats. He underscored that wetland protection hinges on preserving original ecological conditions. We must respect, comply with and protect nature, fully enforce the Wetland Protection Law, strictly observe ecological protection redlines, strive to improve the quality and stability of ecosystems, and safeguard biodiversity. For degraded wetland ecosystems, restoration should be science-based and prioritize natural recovery supplemented by man-made interventions.

Endowed with abundant wind and solar energy resources, Ulanqab has leveraged its comparative strengths in green electricity, climate and geographic location to deliver notable progress in its green computing power industry in recent years. Xi Jinping visited the Chahar High-Tech Development Zone, where he learned about the construction of hub nodes for the national "East Data, West Computing" project and the development of the local green computing power industry at an exhibition hall. He pointed out that implementing the "East Data, West Computing" project and building a nationwide integrated computing power network represents an important deployment by the Party Central Committee. Sound scientific planning, factor support and security guarantees should be put in place to ensure the efficient operation of completed projects and the scheduled delivery of follow-up ones. Industrial chains shall be actively extended to deepen the integration of the digital economy with the real economy, so as to continuously translate computing power strengths into development strengths.

Later, Xi Jinping had cordial exchanges with relevant computing power center project managers, technical staff and personnel from the Chahar High-Tech Zone. He emphasized that the computing power network is one of the six major national strategic networks. The computing power industry is in a phase of accelerated growth with broad prospects. He urged those present to earnestly follow the requirements for high efficiency, environmental friendliness and security, focus on "computing-power-electricity coordination" and "computing-power-water coordination", advance the construction and operation of computing power center projects, and vigorously boost the green computing power industry, thus contributing more to building a Digital China and fostering new-quality productive forces. Xi Jinping required the high-tech zone to strengthen Party leadership and Party-building work, optimize public services and factor support, and foster a favorable environment for enterprises and talents to pursue their undertakings.

Xi Jinping also viewed displays of local specialty agricultural and livestock products, inquired in detail about their main varieties and quality features, and encouraged local authorities to strengthen production-marketing links to help farmers and herdsmen increase their incomes and achieve prosperity.

During the inspection trip, Xi Jinping stressed that China has a vast territory with vastly different resource endowments across regions. On the new journey, all localities should act in accordance with the Party Central Committee’s strategic decisions and plans, establish and apply a correct view of political performance, fully, accurately and comprehensively apply the new development philosophy, keep pace with the times, seize development opportunities, leverage local conditions and comparative strengths, and advance high-quality development in a tailored manner.

He Lifeng and leading officials from relevant central and state authorities accompanied the inspection.