Xi urges high-quality urban renewal

President Xi Jinping stressed advancing high-quality urban renewal during an inspection tour in Shanghai on Wednesday, calling for comprehensive efforts to fully embrace the people-centered philosophy of urban development and keep enhancing urban residents' sense of gain, happiness and security.

In advancing urban renewal, sustained efforts must be made to listen to the people's needs, draw on their suggestions and assess results through their feedback, said Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.

During the tour, Xi spoke with residents and community workers at a residential community in Shanghai's Huangpu district. He listened to a briefing on Shanghai's efforts to renovate old residential buildings lacking sanitary facilities and on the city's resolution of the long-standing problem of residents in old neighborhoods having to carry chamber pots.

He stressed that the CPC Central Committee has made urban work a policy priority, outlining steps to build modern cities of the people that are innovative, desirable to live in, beautiful, resilient, culturally advanced and smart.

Renovating aging urban residential communities is an important part of this endeavor, Xi said.

During the Central Urban Work Conference in July last year, Xi stressed that the nation must take urban renewal as a key driver and vigorously optimize urban structure, foster new growth drivers, improve urban quality, advance green transformation, preserve cultural heritage and enhance governance efficiency.

The State Council, China's Cabinet, released in May an urban renewal plan, outlining key targets and policy measures for the country's urban renewal efforts during the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) period.

According to the plan, the nation will launch renovation projects for 115,000 aging urban residential communities and carry out comprehensive community upgrading in 5,000 neighborhoods during the 2026-30 period, with the aim of creating higher-quality urban living spaces.

Xi underscored on Wednesday that officials must firmly establish and practice a correct understanding of governance performance, think about what concerns the people, respond to their most pressing needs, formulate and implement effective policies, and persevere in improving people's livelihoods over the long term.

He also called for improving property management and community services with what he described as the precision of "needlework", striving to better meet residents' expectations.

At the home of retired resident Zhu Guoli, Xi carefully checked the family's living conditions.

He told the family that the lives of ordinary people are both family affairs and affairs of the State.

The CPC is dedicated to serving the people, and only when the people live in peace and contentment can the Party and the government rest assured, he said.

The president also checked the supply of fruits and vegetables and spoke with community representatives, subdistrict officials and community workers.

He pointed out that communities are the basic units of the urban governance system.

Xi also called for steps to improve the level of community governance, directing more resources, services and management to the grassroots, while continuing to reduce burdens on primary-level organizations and empower them.

With the nation now at a critical stage of flood control and prevention, Xi called on various regions and departments to establish worst-case scenario thinking, closely monitor rainfall, flood conditions and typhoon developments, and carry out detailed investigations of potential risks and hazards. He highlighted the importance of making solid preparations for flood prevention and control, emergency rescue and disaster relief, and effectively safeguarding the lives and property of the people.