GUTIAN, Fujian, Nov. 1  -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said the army is under the absolute leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the principle should always be firmly upheld.

"The Party commands the gun," said Xi, also general secretary of the CPC Central Committee and the Central Military Commission (CMC) chairman, at a military political work conference held in a former revolutionary base in the township of Gutian, Fujian Province on Thursday and Friday.

The ideological and political development is the lifeline for military building and has safeguarded the CPC's absolute command of the troops, Xi noted.

The army has established a set of fine political traditions, including serving the people wholeheartedly, fair and honest promotion of officers, rigorous self-discipline and sacrifice to the revolutionary spirit, Xi said.

"We must profoundly recognize the important role of political work in the army building and pass on to the following generations all the great traditions which were forged in blood by our ancestors," Xi said.

The president said the military cohesion has been increased thanks to sweeping reform measures aimed at sharpening the army's fighting capacity and curbing corruption since he took over the general secretary of the Party in 2012.

To strengthen the army's ideological and political development, Xi urged the troops to have a strong sense of Party principles and interests, giving priority to the CPC cause and the people's interests.

"Fighting capacity is the sole criterion for testing the troops and military officers' assessment and promotion will focus on their ability of leading soldiers to fight and win battles," said Xi, vowing to tighten the management of high-ranking and middle-level officers in the army.

"We'll never slacken the efforts to deepen the fight against corruption in the army," said Xi, pledging to purify contingent of cadres and continue effective crackdown on graft in a regular manner.

The leadership has launched sweeping anti-graft campaign in the troops since taking office. This week the authority said one of the senior former military officers Xu Caihou had confessed to taking "massive" bribes.

Xu was found to have taken advantage of his position to assist in the promotion of others, accepting huge bribes personally and through his family, and to have sought profits for others in exchange for bribes. The amount of bribes were "extremely large", prosecutors said.

Xu was CMC vice chairman from 2004 to 2012 and was made a general in 1999. He has been discharged from military service with his rank of general revoked.