Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has underlined the need to guide the whole Party and people across the country to firm up confidence in reform, and called for pooling strength to advance reform in a steady and sustained manner.

Xi, who is also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks on Tuesday, as he addressed senior officials attending a central Party school study session.

The session, held at the Party School of the CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance) for principal officials at the provincial and ministerial level, was focused on implementing the guiding principles of the third plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, which rolled out a new package of comprehensive reforms for the country.

Xi emphasized that the country's reforms are guided by orientations and principles, with the starting point and foothold being the promotion of social fairness and justice as well as the enhancement of people's well-being.

It is essential to adhere to the overarching goal of continuously improving and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics and advancing the modernization of the country's governance system and capacity, he said.

Xi highlighted the importance of reform in the economic system, and called for comprehensive and coordinated steps to promote reform across all areas, in order to provide a strong impetus and institutional safeguards for the country's modernization drive.

He stressed further deepening reform in the field of rule of law, better leveraging the rule of law in breaking barriers to reforms, and ensuring the protection of the legitimate rights and interests of all citizens and entities on an equal footing.

While emphasizing the need to integrate reform and opening-up, Xi called for deepening reforms in foreign trade, foreign investment and outbound investment management systems.

Efforts must be made to create a world-class, market-oriented business environment governed by a sound legal framework, he added.

Noting that leading officials, especially senior officials, bear the important responsibility of advancing reform, Xi urged them to forge ahead with strong political courage to cope with challenges and risks to create new prospects for reform and development.

He also urged efforts to fully implement the major measures adopted by the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee to boost the economy, and strive to meet the economic and social development targets for the year.