Xi urges promoting spirit of model worker, craftsmanship

Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged nationwide efforts to carry on the spirit of model worker, labor and craftsmanship, urging the young generations of technical workers to strive for excellence to serve the country.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chariman of the Central Military Commission, made the commnets in a congratulatory letter to China's first vocational skills competition which opened on Thursday in Guangzhou, capital of southern Guangdong Province.

Xi stressed that technical workers serve as an important foundation in China's economy and play a key role in high-quality economic growth.

The four-day competition has a total of 2,557 contestants in 36 teams from across the country registered for 86 skills events. It covers the country's 14 major industries, including manufacturing, information technology, transportation and architecture, representing 70 percent of China's industrial sectors, according to officials from the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.