Chinese President Xi Jinping urged for nationwide efforts to carry on the "model worker spirit," and urged young generations of technical workers to strive for excellence, while calling their work a service to the country. 

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the comments in a congratulatory letter to China's first vocational skills competition which opened on Thursday in Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong Province.

Xi stressed that technical workers serve as an important foundation in China's economy and play a key role in high-quality economic growth.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang also stressed that improving vocational skills is an important basis for advancing Chinese manufacturing and services, calling for efforts to further improve training systems.

Young people should be encouraged to study and improve their skills so as to provide strong support for employment, innovation and high-quality economic development, Li said.

The four-day competition features 2,557 contestants in 36 teams from across the country and 86 skills events. It covers the country's 14 major industries, including manufacturing, information technology, transportation and architecture, representing 70 percent of China's industrial sectors, according to officials from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.