BEIJING — Vice-Premier Zhang Gaoli on March 25 urged implementation of a new round of rural electric power grid upgrades in a bid to improve rural residents’ livelihoods and bolster China’s economy.

Zhang stressed the pressing need to upgrade the rural power grid in a State Council teleconference, as the changes are in line with the country’s supply-side structural reform and will help promote steady economic growth.

The government will promote full power supply coverage for motor-pumped well facilities in villages on flat land by the end of 2017, he said.

Priority should be given to Tibet and Xinjiang autonomous regions as well as Tibetan areas in Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces, he added.

Zhang called on local authorities to prioritize the grid upgrades and help companies carry out the project.

China will invest more than 700 billion yuan ($107 billion) in rural power grid upgrades, according to a government statement released last month.