President Xi Jinping on Friday said training and selecting outstanding young officials is vital to the fate of the Party, state and Chinese nation, and to the people's wellbeing, calling it an important task for generations to come.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the statement during the opening ceremony of a training program of young and middle-aged officials at the Party School of CPC Central Committee (National Academy of Governance).

Xi told the officials to stay loyal to the Party, remain grateful to the people, be motivated at work and hold law and Party discipline in high regard.

Party officials should be faithful, loyal, competent and disciplined, he said.

Wang Huning, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and a member of the Secretariat of the CPC Central Committee, attended the ceremony.

Xi said it is necessary to arm officials and cadres with Marxist theory in their development.

He also called for efforts in learning the thought on socialism with Chinese characteristics for a new era, saying that it is necessary to fully grasp its significance for the time, the theory, the practices and the world.

He noted that whether an official is loyal to the Party is a key gauge of whether they have ideals and convictions. "Loyalty always comes first," he said.

He also called on officials and cadres to place the people at the top in their hearts, saying that to weather through with the people, keep close bonds and share the same future with them is the fundamental guarantee for the Party to overcome all difficulties and risks.

He asked the officials to maintain a strong sense of love, care and willingness to work for benefits of the people.

He told the officials to enhance self-cultivation, self-discipline and self-reform.

Officials should be determined to make great achievements, rather than to seek personal promotion, in serving the Party and the people, Xi said.

Xi instructed officials to maintain integrity in their personal lives and cultivate a good taste for life, and asked them not to indulge in empty talk but be a man of action.

Officials who take responsibility for their actions demonstrate their commitment to Party principles and their integrity, he stressed.