Chinese President Xi Jinping on March 12 called for deepening military-civilian integration, while highlighting sci-tech innovation as the key to military upgrading.

Speaking to national lawmakers from the People's Liberation Army (PLA) at the ongoing annual parliamentary session, Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said efforts should be made to provide greater science and technology support for the PLA.

Since the 18th CPC National Congress in late 2012, historic breakthrough in national defense and military reform has been made, significant progress in combat readiness has been achieved, and crushing momentum in fighting corruption has been realized, he said.

Pointing to the profound changes brought by sci-tech advancement to people's lifestyles and the world's military development, Xi said, "We must have a greater sense of urgency to push for sci-tech innovation and advancement with greater determination and efforts."

He called for enhanced top-level design and strategic planning in promoting military-civilian integration in national defense technology and military equipment, and strengthening military and civilian cooperation in training high-quality military personnel.

He urged the PLA to speed up the transition featuring better quality and performance with the intensive application of advanced technologies in army building.

Civil technologies should better serve military purposes, and defense technologies should be adapted and applied well for civil use, the president said.

Efforts to improve the training system of military personnel should also be strengthened to foster a large number of high-quality military talent, Xi said, adding that enhancing scientific and technological attainment of officers and men should be a basic requirement for the PLA.

He noted that the CPC Central Committee's decision to establish a central commission for integrated military and civilian development aims to reinforce centralized and unified leadership. Efforts should be made to remove institutional barriers and work out perfect policies for military and civilian integration.

(Xinhua News Agency March 12, 2017)