ZHENGZHOU, May 20 (Xinhua) -- President Xi Jinping has underscored unwavering confidence in boosting high-quality development and enhancing governance efficiency, while urging central China's Henan Province to write a new chapter in advancing Chinese modernization.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks during his inspection tour of the cities of Luoyang and Zhengzhou in the province on Monday and Tuesday.

He emphasized that Henan should focus on building a modern industrial system and strengthening its agricultural capacity, improving people's well-being and social governance, enhancing ecological and environmental protection, and promoting cultural prosperity.

On Monday afternoon, Xi visited Luoyang Bearing Group Co., Ltd. Its predecessor was a factory established during China's inaugural five-year plan period (1953-1957). The five-year plan laid the industrial foundation via concentrated efforts to build New China's first steel production base and first auto manufacturer.

It is imperative to maintain a robust and reasonable share of the manufacturing, a key pillar of the national economy, in the process of advancing Chinese modernization, Xi said.

"Modern manufacturing relies on sci-tech empowerment," Xi said, while calling for greater efforts in the quest for core technological breakthroughs and pursuit of a path of independent innovation.

Xi then visited the White Horse Temple, originally built during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), where he learned about the adaptation of Buddhism to the Chinese context and local efforts to preserve cultural relics.

At the Longmen Grottoes, an over 1,500-year-old UNESCO World Heritage site which also represents the pinnacle of Chinese stone carving art, Xi underlined the importance of preserving, inheriting and promoting these treasures of Chinese culture.

The integration of culture and tourism holds great potential, Xi said, requiring efforts to promote the high-quality development of the sector and turn it into a pillar industry that benefits the people and enriches their lives.

On Tuesday morning, Xi heard the provincial authorities' work report.

Xi emphasized that high-quality development is fundamental to advancing Chinese modernization. In the face of a complex external environment, China should unwaveringly focus on managing domestic affairs well and expanding high-standard opening up, he added.

Xi called for concrete efforts to maintain the stability of employment, businesses, the market and expectations.

As an economic powerhouse, Henan should strengthen its real economy as the bedrock of development and foster new quality productive forces tailored to local strengths, Xi said.

He also highlighted the need to enhance farmland protection and development, advance comprehensive rural revitalization through integrated urban-rural development, and strengthen the ecological conservation of key river basins.

Xi urged more efforts to strengthen social governance as Henan faces complex and diverse social issues due to its large population, high population density, and significant population mobility.

He also demanded the province to enhance Party-building within new-type economic and social organizations and among groups in new forms of employment, emphasizing the need to improve public services, and forestall and defuse risks in key sectors to safeguard social stability.

Carrying out the education campaign to implement the Party central leadership's "eight-point decision" on improving work conduct is a major task for Party-building work this year, and the focus should be put on solving problems, Xi said.

As drought has lingered in certain regions of the country since the beginning of this year, Xi called for better water allocation to safeguard water supply for residents and meet agricultural irrigation needs.

Xi urged all regions to make thorough preparations for flood prevention and control as the flood season arrives.