BEIJING (REUTERS) - China's President Xi Jinping has called for the acceleration of land transfers to help modernise the country's agriculture, state media reported on Saturday.

Mr Xi said family-run farms should work to raise the scale of their operations.

The Chinese president also said that the fundamentals of China's economic development had not changed, and that the government would continue to manage steady growth, while promoting reform and structural adjustments, while minimising risks.

Mr Xi made his remarks on a visit to Henan province.

Land reform was an important part of the reform directive unveiled at the Third Communist Party Plenum in November. Chinese leaders vowed that farmers would be granted more control over their land, allowing them to mortgage or transfer rights.