Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for efforts to boost the confidence and determination of the Chinese people in following the Party along the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the path of reform and opening up.

President Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited a major exhibition to commemorate the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening up.

The exhibition should help build a common understanding and a consensus, raise morale, and foster both a sense of solidarity and a striving spirit, Xi said.

The exhibition was held in the National Museum in Beijing, with six different areas. It includes a sculpture showing 18 farmers who used their fingerprints to start village reform, models of the Long March series of rockets and the Tiangong space stations, and photos showcasing the achievements in economic, political, cultural and social construction.

President Xi said the exhibition shows the public the correctness of the Party's theory, the power of socialism with Chinese characteristics and helps continue efforts to develop a brighter future. He also hopes to strengthen the determination and confidence of all ethnic groups in the country to follow the CPC to forge ahead on the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the path of reform and opening up.

Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, addressed the opening ceremony in the morning.

Wang urged the country to closely unite around the leadership of the CPC with President Xi at the core while enhancing the "Four Consciousnesses" (enhancing political integrity, developing a better understanding of the general picture, following the core leadership of the Central Committee, and acting consistently with CPC Central Committee policy) and strengthening the "Four Confidences" (confidence in the path, theory, system and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics), so as to speed up the pace of reform and opening up.

(With inputs from Xinhua News Agency)