Xi hails role of supply and marketing cooperatives

President Xi Jinping has urged supply and marketing cooperatives to root themselves in agriculture and rural areas, and continuously build a comprehensive platform for serving farmers' production and life and promoting the development of modern agriculture. He urged the supply and marketing cooperatives to faithfully implement the new development philosophy, focus on their main responsibilities and businesses, deepen comprehensive reforms and strengthen institutional innovation. The supply and marketing cooperatives need to act as bridges for the Party and the government to maintain close ties with farmers, strive to write a new chapter of high-quality development of the sector, and make greater contributions to advancing comprehensive rural vitalization and accelerating the building of a country strong in agriculture, Xi added. Premier Li Qiang also made an instruction, urging supply and marketing cooperatives to play a greater role in advancing urban-rural integration and accelerating the modernization of agriculture and rural areas. After 70 years of development, supply and marketing cooperatives have accelerated their extension toward comprehensive agricultural social services and expanded their services to all-around urban and rural communities.