(Photo: CGTN)

Xi Jinping, the general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has called on Party members to share the Party's burdens and encourage those who get rich to help in the battle against poverty.

Xi, who is also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the exhortation in response to a letter from Party members in eastern Zhejiang Province proposing to donate tea seedlings to poor areas.

He said that Party members should never forget the source of their benefits and be grateful for what the Party has done for them, as this is of great significance in winning the battle against poverty.

On April 20, Party members from rural Huangdu Village in Zhejiang wrote a letter to Xi, reporting how the village gets rich by growing tea and proposing to donate 15 million tea seedlings to help impoverished regions lift more people out of poverty.

On the instruction of the president, the State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development specified 34 villages in the provinces of Hunan, Sichuan and Guizhou to receive donations.

The plan is expected to help 5,839 poor people in 1,862 households increase income and get rid of poverty.