President Xi urges strong official-worker ties

URUMQI - Chinese President Xi Jinping has called on members and officials of the Communist Party of China (CPC) to lead the spirit of hard work and identify themselves more with the country's workers.

Xi made the remarks on Wednesday while talking with workers during an inspection in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Greeting workers, farmers, scholars and people from other walks of life ahead of International Workers' Day, Xi praised model workers for their professional dedication and innovative spirit. He hailed them as the "pride of the motherland and the people".

"Work is the inevitable path toward success... and ultimately we need diligent, honest and scientific work to realize our goals, " Xi said.

The president vowed efforts to promote the roles of work, knowledge and talent, saying they would contribute to the country's opening-up and reform as well as the socialist modernization cause.

"While tending to their own jobs, model workers and outstanding figures should also spread the notion of completing tasks, behaving oneself and creating fortunes through diligence, especially among young people," Xi said.

He stressed that hard work was a way for CPC members to maintain their political beliefs and integrity as well as a force to pull them away from decadent behaviors.

"Party members and officials should take the lead in promoting a hardworking spirit, strengthen emotional ties with workers and set an example by working diligently and steadily in their own positions," the president said.

As industrial upgrading and restructuring forced some companies and employees into hardship, Xi called for more care for their lives and professional development.