国内英语新闻:Leaders highlight integrated development in urban, rural regions

BEIJING, March 5 (Xinhua) -- Chinese leaders stressed on Tuesday that development in urban and rural regions must be integrated and urbanization should be carried out in an orderly way.

Vice Premier Li Keqiang said that to solve problems and continue to advance a sustained, healthy development of the economy, the key is to speed up economic transformation, push for industrialization, informatization, urbanization and agricultural modernization in a synchronized way.

Li made the remarks while joining a panel discussion with lawmakers from east China's Shandong Province at the ongoing session of the National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature.

It was important to achieve coordinated development between urban and rural areas, the vice premier said.

He said urbanization and agricultural modernization are complementary to each other.

"We should improve the productivity of the countryside while enhancing the capacity of cities to accommodate people," he said.

"We must work harder to improve the livelihood of the people, and boost the living standards of urban and rural residents while pushing economic development," Li added.