Photo:Xinhua

President Xi Jinping has stressed consolidating the sense of community for the Chinese nation and unswervingly taking the correct approaches with Chinese characteristics to handling ethnic affairs when he addressed the central conference on ethnic affairs.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, called for promoting high-quality development of the Party's work on ethnic affairs in the new era.

The conference, held in Beijing on Friday and Saturday, was presided over by Li Keqiang, and attended by Li Zhanshu, Wang Huning, Zhao Leji and Han Zheng, while Wang Yang made concluding remarks.

In his speech, Xi summarized the formation of the Party's important thoughts on strengthening and improving ethnic work since the reform and opening-up, especially after the 18th CPC National Congress in 2012.

The historical position of the Party's ethnic work in the new era must be understood from the strategic perspective of national rejuvenation, Xi said.

Guiding all ethnic groups to jointly strive for fully building a modern socialist country must be taken as a crucial task of CPC's ethnic work in the new era, Xi noted.

Forging the sense of community for the Chinese nation must be the focus of CPC's ethnic work in the new era, he said, adding that the right perspective of the Chinese nation's history must be upheld, and the sense of national identity and pride must be boosted.

All ethnic groups must be equal; the banner of the unity of the Chinese nation must be held high, he said.

The system of regional ethnic autonomy must be upheld and improved, and the implementation of the CPC Central Committee's policies and decisions as well as China's laws and regulations must be guaranteed, he stressed.

The sense of belonging for the Chinese nation must be established; extensive exchanges, communication and integration of various ethnic groups must be promoted, according to Xi.

Ethnic affairs must be governed in accordance with the law; national sovereignty, security and development interests must be resolutely safeguarded, Xi said.

The CPC's leadership over ethnic work must be upheld, he stressed.