Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday encouraged young people to pursue excellence in craftsmanship, stating that a good grasp of technical skills would make them competent professionals to better serve the country.  

President Xi made the remarks in a written instruction to congratulate Chinese contestants on their good results at the 45th WorldSkills Competition held in Kazan, Russia, last month. 

The quality of workers is crucial to the development of a nation, Xi said, adding that skilled workers are an important foundation to support "Made in China" and "Created in China," and play an important role in promoting high-quality economic development.

It is necessary to improve the training, use, evaluation, and incentive systems for skilled personnel, develop technical education, conduct vocational skills training, and accelerate the training of a large number of high-quality workers and technical personnel, Xi noted. 

Xi also stressed the need to carry forward the spirit of craftsmanship in the whole society and inspire young people to serve the country by grasping technical skills. 

The 46th WorldSkills Competition will be held in east China's Shanghai Municipality in 2021. Calling for sound preparation and organization, Xi said we should strengthen exchanges and mutual learning with other countries in the field of skills, demonstrate the achievements and levels of vocational skills training in China, and strive to host a new world-class skills competition with new ideas and influence. 

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said skilled workers are precious resources for China and important support for industry upgrade and high-quality development. 

Premier Li urged more attention to the training of skilled workers and called for international cooperation in this field. 

WorldSkills Competition is held every two years. China finished this year's competition with 16 gold medals, 14 silver and 5 medals, putting China at the top of the medal rankings.