HOHHOT, Aug. 25 (Xinhua) -- The key to social harmony and stability in China is to strengthen and improve the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), Xi Jinping, Vice President and member of the Standing Committee of the CPC Central Committee Political Bureau, said during a tour of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

    Xi said issues concerning economic development and social stability were top priority in the country's minority areas during his tour from Aug. 22 to 25.

    He visited villages, customs posts, companies, communities and schools in Hulun Buir, Manzhouli, Baotou, Erdos, and Hohhot.

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping (2nd L) visits at the Carbon-to-Liquid plant of the Shenhua Group Corporation Limited in Ordos, north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, on Aug. 22, 2009

Xi met with industry leaders, including leaders at coal and power giants Huaneng Group and Shenhua Group, and major dairy producer Meng Niu Group. He also inspected the well-known land port of Manzhouli, which links China with neighboring Mongolia.

    Xi also talked with ethnic Mongolian herdsmen to learn about their work and lives.

    In Hohhot, the regional capital, he urged officials to work hard to resolve problems regarding people's lives. "Let people of different ethnic groups share the achievements of reforms and development," he said.

    At the end of his study tour, Xi held a workshop that was attended by leading regional officials.