‍Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday called for more efforts in building the country's universities into world-class institutions with Chinese characteristics.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks on a visit to Peking University for its 120th anniversary celebration.

While inspecting an exhibition of the university's achievements, the president said making a country great is a precondition of making a university great. 

He also said it is a long-term task for China to turn itself into a modernized socialist country, and that requires continued efforts. He urged the young generation to provide the great momentum in this, and become the latest great force in rejuvenating China. 

He also encouraged the faculty there to build the university into one of the best in the world.

During his visit, the president also expressed his respect for the senior professors and thanked for their positive contribution to training outstanding talents. 

He told young and middle-aged teachers to learn from the older generation of scholars and experts and to continue to work hard in teaching and scientific research.

During the visit, Xi also emphasized that innovation is the first driving force in development and is the key factor in influencing a country's comprehensive national power and its core competitiveness.

We must remain clear in our self-developed and independent innovation and we must firmly grasp key technological innovation achievements with our own hands, Xi added.

He also said we should continue to deepen the reform of the scientific and technological system and devote more manpower, materials and capital to the frontline of scientific and technological innovation so as to make greater breakthroughs in key common technology, leading technology, modern engineering technology and subversive technological innovation, as well as seize the high points of scientific and technological innovation.

Xi noted that colleges and universities are an important part of the scientific and technological innovation system and that collegial scientific researchers are an important part of the scientific and technological innovation team.

We should strengthen the collaborative innovation among the subjects, strengthen the support for the cross disciplinary groups and the scientific and technological teams, and cultivate more and more scientific and technological talents and innovative teams to an international level, Xi said.

After inspecting an exhibition of "Peking University with Marxism", he called on colleges' and universities' Marxism schools to promote the Marx doctrine on the campus, in the classroom and into the mind of students.

Peking University is the birthplace of Marxism's spread in China and in recent years, Peking University established the first school of Marxism in China. 

Founded as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898, Peking University is China’s oldest higher learning institution. Because of its vital role in the May Fourth Movement of 1919, the University celebrates its anniversary on May 4 every year.