Vice President Xi Jinping (front R), who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, joins a panel discussion with deputies to the Second Session of the 11th National People's Congress (NPC) from north China's Shanxi Province, in Beijing, capital of China, on March 10, 2009. [Xinhua]

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for safety in development, to ensure the economic growth, people's well-being and social stability in the coal-rich northern Shanxi Province.

"Safety in development is vital to people's lives and health," said Xi, when joining a panel discussion with lawmakers from Shanxi.

Xi, also member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, called for officials in Shanxi to improve their working style, perfect the present safety supervision mechanism, and explore a new way to realize safe and harmonious development.

He said that safety in development is the first step for realizing "Scientific Outlook on Development".

A total of 78 miners were killed and at least 114 people injured in a coal mine explosion on February 22 in Shanxi.

(Xinhua News Agency March 10, 2009)