Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday stressed efforts to make new major breakthroughs in the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta and enhance the region's leading and exemplary role in pursuing Chinese modernization.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks while chairing a symposium on advancing the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta.

Xi underlined the importance of advancing the region's integrated development, improving its innovation capacity, industrial competitiveness and development quality, and forming a new pattern of higher-level reform and opening up. These are of great significance for China to build a new development paradigm, promote high-quality development, and advance the building of a strong country and national rejuvenation through a Chinese path to modernization, he said.

Noting that major progress has been achieved since the strategy of the region's integrated development was put forward five years ago, Xi said that there are also some deep-seated problems to be solved.

Advancing the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta is a major undertaking, and making steady progress and continuing the hard work are necessary to write new chapters of the region's integrated development, he said.

On future development, Xi stressed the need to strengthen cross-region collaboration in sci-tech innovation and industrial innovation.

He also underscored the importance of making institutional improvements for the region's integrated development.

The region should vigorously promote high-level coordinated opening up and strengthen joint protection and governance of the ecological environment, Xi noted.

More efforts should be made to enhance the region's capability to coordinate development and security, and the CPC's overall leadership must be upheld and strengthened in promoting the region's integrated development, he said.