A senior Chinese leader has urged local governments to make a greater effort to promote economic development and support social stability during the economic downturn.

Zhou Yongkang, member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the call during a five-day tour of eastern Anhui Province that ended Friday.

Zhou directed local governments to faithfully implement the central authorities' policies and strive to maintain economic growth, improve people's living standards and safeguard social harmony.

Improved living standards would provide the basis of a peaceful society, while social stability was a prerequisite for economic development, he said.

He called on employers to shoulder their social responsibilities and create more jobs, and asked law enforcement personnel to offer better judicial support for creating social peace.

(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2009)