LANZHOU -- President Xi Jinping on Thursday called for breaking new ground in the ecological conservation and high-quality development of the Yellow River basin.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks when he convened a meeting in Lanzhou, capital of Northwest China's Gansu province.

Xi said efforts in this regard should be powered by further deepening reform comprehensively.

He called for promoting ecological protection across the entire river basin to a new level, achieving new progress in green transformation, and bringing new improvements to the lives of the people.

It is necessary to continuously improve the holistic framework of ecological protection and collaboration in the Yellow River basin to strengthen the national ecological security shields, Xi said.

Xi urged continuous efforts to intensify the battle against pollution, highlighting the management of important tributaries and key lakes and reservoirs.

He stressed accelerating the upgrades toward ultra-low emissions in key sectors and vigorously promoting the clean and efficient use of coal.

Efforts should be made to implement fiscal, tax, investment and pricing policies and standards to support green and low-carbon development, he added.

Xi urged efforts to explore establishing a basin-wide, market-based and diversified compensation mechanism for ecological conservation.

The strictest system for the protection and utilization of water resources should be implemented, he noted.

Xi emphasized the need to improve the disaster prevention and reduction system. He said the water regulation system centered around major water conservancy projects such as key reservoirs should be improved.

He underscored efforts to ensure the safety of important embankments, reservoirs and other infrastructure projects.

Xi urged efforts to develop the green and low-carbon economy and accelerate the substitution of clean energy for fossil fuels in key industries.

Xi stressed the need to comprehensively deepen reform and expand opening up, calling on local areas to actively participate in the building of a unified national market and resolutely eliminate all forms of local protectionism.

Efforts should be made to deepen reform related to state assets and state-owned enterprises, and fully implement policies and measures to promote the development of the private economy, Xi stressed.

The country must coordinate the pursuits of new urbanization and rural revitalization, Xi said.

Employment needs to be placed in a prominent position, Xi said, adding that expanding employment capacity should be prioritized in urban industrial development and rural industrial cultivation.

Efforts should be made to protect and promote the Yellow River culture, strengthen the comprehensive and systemic protection of cultural and natural heritage, and further advance archaeological work, Xi stressed.

Party committees and governments of provinces and regions along the Yellow River must take on the principal responsibilities, and people from all sectors of society should be motivated, Xi said.

He also urged ensuring sound economic work at the end of the third quarter and throughout the final quarter, and striving to meet the annual economic and social development targets.

Cai Qi, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and director of the General Office of the CPC Central Committee, and Ding Xuexiang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Chinese vice premier, attended the meeting.