ZHANGJIAKOU -- President Xi Jinping, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has underlined that high-speed rail is a proof of China's independent innovation.

Xi made the remarks on Tuesday during an inspection tour of the preparation work on the Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in the Zhangjiakou competition zone.

After arriving at Taizicheng station, Xi visited the athletes' service hall and observed exhibits including a rail network map of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the sketch map and sand table of the Olympic competition zone and the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed rail link.

The high-speed rail is a successful demonstration of China's independent innovation, Xi said.

Xi stressed that China's high-speed rail has undergone a process from introduction, digestion, absorption and re-innovation to independent innovation, and is now a world leader in high-speed rail technology.

Xi emphasized the importance of continuing to strive for greater development in the 14th Five-Year Plan period from 2021 to 2025.

When the Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed rail went into operation on December 30, 2019, Xi stressed the significance of the line connecting Beijing and its 2022 co-host city Zhangjiakou.

He said the opening of the line marked new progress in the preparations for the Winter Olympics, and that other related work should follow the same high standards.

"The Beijing-Zhangjiakou railway line bears witness to the development of Chinese rail as well as leaps in China's comprehensive strength," Xi said.

Looking back at history, the new line carries even greater significance, Xi said.

With the launch of the service, it now takes passengers less than an hour to travel from Beijing to the main venue in Zhangjiakou.

The total length of high-speed rail lines in China was 37,900 km at the end of 2020, an increase of 2,900 km from 2019 and almost double the amount in 2015, according to the China State Railway Group.