BEIJING, Feb. 13 -- President Xi Jinping has called for village officials who graduated from college to improve themselves and contribute more to underdeveloped rural areas.

Xi made the comments in a letter to Zhang Guangxiu, 28, who became an official in a village in eastern China's Shandong Province in 2009 upon graduation.

Winning local residents' praise for her painstaking work, Zhang's story was brought into the media spotlight and brought sympathy nationwide following her diagnosis with acute leukaemia in September 2010.

Central leaders including Xi saw to her receiving treatment in Beijing from early 2011, and she returned to her post in June last year.

Xi's letter, made public on Thursday, was written on Jan. 28 in reply to a letter from Zhang, in which she told the President about her recent life and work.

Welcoming Zhang back to her job, Xi expressed his pleasure at her recuperation and advised her to take care of herself.

"Changing the appearance of villages and helping farmers live good lives... requires good policies from the Party and the government as well as vast, unremitting efforts from rural people, guided by grassroots officials," Xi said.

According to Xi, hundreds of thousands of college graduates have been offering their services and realizing their value in the countryside since the "College to Village" campaign started in 2008.

"Your sacrifice and contribution are heartily felt by rural people, and I'm happy with your progress and achievements after reading many graduate village officials' outstanding stories," Xi wrote.

Xi hoped that young officials could love rural life and take root there, boost their knowledge and competence, promote rural development, benefit rural residents and have no regrets from their youth.