Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday said Hong Kong will prosper only when the young people thrive and called on them to join the efforts to build a better Hong Kong.

Xi made the remarks when he delivered a speech at a ceremony celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland and the inauguration of the sixth-term government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

"We should give care and love to the young people," he said. "Hong Kong will prosper only when the young people thrive; Hong Kong will develop only when the young people develop; and Hong Kong will have a future only when the young people have a future."