This aerial photo taken on Sept 14, 2021 shows a villager drying millet in Yuanqu county of Yuncheng city, North China's Shanxi province. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

President Xi Jinping reiterated on Wednesday the importance of giving priority to the development of agriculture and rural areas, enabling their quicker modernization and continuously lifting the living standards of farmers.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, sent congratulations and greetings to farmers and people dedicated to agricultural and rural work ahead of the fourth Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival, which falls on Thursday.

President Xi underscored that rural vitalization is essential to national rejuvenation, saying that the focus of work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers has now shifted to rural vitalization as the nation embarks on realizing its second centenary goal of building a strong and modern socialist country in all respects

He noted that China overcame challenges from COVID-19 and natural disasters including floods to secure a bumper harvest, with rural areas in a stable and harmonious situation and farmers living happy lives, which was instrumental to the nation's efforts in breaking new ground and responding to changes.

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The president underscored that rural vitalization is essential to national rejuvenation, saying that the focus of work related to agriculture, rural areas and farmers has now shifted to rural vitalization as the nation embarks on realizing its second centenary goal of building a strong and modern socialist country in all respects.

He called for Party committees and governments at various levels to faithfully carry out the policies, decisions and plan for work related to agriculture and rural areas.

The nation decided in 2018 that the autumn equinox each year would be the Chinese Farmers' Harvest Festival, in a bid to further strengthen the role of agriculture and rural areas and improve the sense of gain and happiness among farmers.

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Xi has long stressed the need to guarantee China's food security, saying that it is imperative to ensure the food supply for the 1.4 billion Chinese people through the nation's own efforts.

The per capita income of rural residents reached 9,248 yuan ($1,430) in the first half of this year, which was up by 14.1 percent year-on-year and 3.4 percentage points higher than the growth in urban residents' per capita income, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.