Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, on Monday instructed the armed forces to study, publicize and implement the guiding principles of the 20th CPC National Congress, and strive to achieve the goals set for the centenary of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

Xi, also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), made the remarks when attending a meeting of leading military cadres while calling for opening new ground for developing a strong military.

He stressed that achieving the centenary goals is a central task of the country's military building in the next five years, demanding all-out efforts in reaching the goals.

Xi asked the army to learn and implement the spirit of the 20th CPC National Congress, fully implementing the Party's thinking on strengthening the military for the new era and effectively fulfilling their missions and tasks of achieving the goals for the centenary of the PLA by 2027.

Xi said that during the past five years, the CMC has endeavored to take comprehensive measures to enhance the political loyalty of the armed forces, to strengthen them through reform and technology and the training of competent personnel, and to run them in accordance with the law.

It has been upholding the Party's absolute leadership over the armed forces, innovating military strategy, boosting military training and preparedness across the board, as well as making unremitting efforts to improve conduct, enforce discipline, and combat corruption in the military.

Xi praised the 20th CPC National Congress as a success, saying to study and implement the spirit of the congress is the primary task for the Party, the country and the army at present and in the years to come.

He urged military officers and soldiers to learn from the report of the congress as well as the Party's Constitution so as to better guide their work.

The president also asked the members of the CMC, newly chosen at the first plenary session of the 20th CPC Central Committee, to be keenly aware of the trust bestowed by the Party and people and the expectations of all servicemen and women and spare no effort in their work.

China has formulated a three-step development strategy for modernizing national defense and the armed forces – achieving the centenary objectives of the PLA by 2027, basically realizing the modernization of national defense and the armed forces by 2035, and fully building the armed forces into world-class forces by the mid-21st century.

The just concluded 20th CPC National Congress has stressed that achieving the goals for the centenary of the PLA by 2027 and more quickly elevating the people's armed forces to world-class standards are strategic tasks for building a modern socialist country in all respects. 

(With input from Xinhua)