BEIJING, June 10 (Xinhua) — In his latest inspection visit to southwest China's Sichuan Province this week, President Xi Jinping visited Yibin, where the Jinsha and Minjiang rivers converge into the Yangtze River.

He noted that sound ecological conservation along the Yangtze River basin is the precondition for advancing high-quality development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, attaches great importance to the ecological protection of the 6,300-km-long Yangtze, China's longest river. Over the past few years, he has undertaken multiple inspection tours along the Yangtze.

He has also convened several symposiums to advance the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, which covers nine provinces and two municipalities and accounts for more than 40 percent of the country's population and economic aggregate.

The following are some highlights of his quotes:

— The Yellow River and the Yangtze River are the mother rivers of the Chinese nation. The protection of the mother rivers is a crucial project concerning the great rejuvenation and sustainable development of the Chinese nation.

— The cost of the fishing ban in the Yangtze River is not small, but it is worthwhile to protect the ecology of the whole basin.

— The Yangtze River boasts a unique ecological system. Restoring its ecological environment will be an overwhelming task and no large-scale development will be allowed along the river at present and for a rather long period to come.

— Promoting the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt is a major strategy concerning overall national development.

— Efforts should be made to blaze a new trail of green development that gives priority to ecology, so as to provide powerful support for the high-quality and sustainable development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

(Source: Xinhua)