BEIJING, July 24  -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday called for reforms in the country's supply and marketing cooperatives to cater to the needs of new development in rural areas.

Recognizing the cooperatives' contribution to rural development and stabilizing commodity supply in the past decades, Xi asked authorities to continue efforts to allow them to play their role.

Xi gave the instructions in a teleconference on Thursday to mark the 60th anniversary of the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives.

China's supply and marketing cooperatives have served as a key platform for the distribution of agricultural products in rural areas.

Premier Li Keqiang also instructed the cooperatives to play a bigger role in the development of modern agriculture in rural areas.

Chinese vice premier Wang Yang delivered a speech at the conference.

Earlier data showed the combined sales volume of China's supply and marketing cooperatives rose 15.7 percent year on year to 1.63 trillion yuan (265 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of the year.