TAIYUAN - Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has underlined the importance of modernizing agriculture and rural areas amid China's endeavor to build a modern socialist country in an all-round manner.

Xi made the remarks on Wednesday while visiting a village in Fenxi county in North China's Shanxi province.

On Wednesday afternoon, Xi inspected a public service center in Duancun village and visited local residents.

Xi said it was a pleasure to see that the villagers were content with their lives.

Noting that there is still a long way to go before attaining the goal of modern socialist China, Xi urged efforts to consolidate the achievements of poverty eradication and advance rural vitalization, and to modernize rural life.