Xi highlights modernizing nation's defense

Systematic perspective, planning key for improving comprehensive capability

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has called for the continuous improvement of the nation's border, coastal and air defense systems.

Xi, who is also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, said on Tuesday that the modernization of the border, coastal and air defense systems is an inherent requirement of the overall modernization of China's national defense and armed forces, and an essential measure to safeguard the country's development and rejuvenation.

He said that border, coastal and air defense systems are important symbols of national sovereignty, major guardians of national security and a crucial foundation of national development, adding that the Party always attaches great importance to these.