President Xi Jinping has called for sustained efforts to promote high-quality development and common prosperity in areas with large ethnic minority populations.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remark on Tuesday in a reply letter to people in Jingning She autonomous county in East China's Zhejiang province.

The She ethnic group is one of China's 56 ethnic groups. Statistics show that there are about 746,000 members of the She ethnic group in the country.

Established in 1984, Jingning is China's sole autonomous county of the She ethnic group. The population of the ethnic group in the county stood at 18,410 at the end of last year, roughly 11 percent of the county's total.

In a letter sent recently to Xi, the county's Party and government authorities highlighted Jingning's achievements over the past 40 years and vowed to take the lead in promoting common prosperity in ethnic regions.

In the reply, Xi expressed his warm congratulations on the 40th anniversary of the founding of the county.

Commending the county's accomplishments, Xi said he is happy to know that people of all ethnic groups are leading better lives.

He encouraged Jingning to continue to uphold fine traditions, strengthen ethnic unity, and leverage its unique advantages to usher in a new chapter of development.

@janaaastha