Xi stresses enhancing rocket launch, test capability

Chinese President Xi Jinping(R front), who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), meets with senior officers of local military units in north China's Shanxi Province, in Taiyuan, capital of Shanxi, June 22, 2017. (Xinhua/Ju Zhenhua)

TAIYUAN, June 24 -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has called for comprehensively improving the country's rocket launch and test capabilities.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), made the remarks during inspection of a space force unit based in Shanxi Province in north China on Thursday.

At about 9 a.m., Xi arrived at the unit's history museum. The military base, first set up in 1960s, was an indigenously designed and built national defense testing ground.

Xi highly recognized the efforts of officers and staff of the base in the past 50 years, and said the Party and the people should show gratitude to their outstanding contributions in promoting the national defense power.

He also urged to care more about the life of the officers and soldiers at the base and help them solve problems.

The president then paid a visit to the base's cultural and sports center where he met with the base's officers, and asked them to make concerted efforts to develop new combat forces which can be integrated into the PLA's joint operation system.

Xi also stressed deepening the military and civilian integration, and encouraged the aerospace forces to play an exemplary role in this area for all the armed forces.