President and new state military chief Hu Jintao on Sunday urged the country's armed forces to earnestly perform their historical mission in the new century and safeguard China's sovereignty, territorial integrity and national interests.

"We must continuously enhance our sense of political responsibility and always place the task of defending national sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and safeguarding the interests of national development above anything else," said Hu at a plenary meeting of the People's Liberation Army (PLA) delegation to the ongoing annual session of the 10th National People's Congress (NPC), the top legislature, in Beijing.

Hu, 62, was elected chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC) of the People's Republic of China Sunday morning at a full-member meeting of the NPC, taking over from 78-year-old Jiang Zemin, whose request for resignation was accepted by the top legislature five days ago.

"All comrades in the military should correctly understand the situation and resolutely perform the military's historical mission in the new century and the new development stage," Hu told the PLA deputies to the NPC.

"We shall step up preparations for possible military struggle and enhance our capabilities to cope with crises, safeguard peace, prevent wars and win the wars if any," he said.

Stressing the importance of "unswervingly adhering to the fundamental principle and system of the Party's absolute leadership over the military," Hu called on the armed forces to carry on the education campaign aimed at "preserving the advanced nature of Communist Party members," a nationwide campaign launched by the Communist Party recently to ensure its 68 million members serve as models for society.

In his speech, Hu spoke highly of the "outstanding contributions to the Party, state and people" of his predecessor Jiang, as well as Jiang's "remarkable merits in strengthening national defense and promoting the military's modernization."

"All troops of the armed forces shall unswervingly hold high the great banner of Deng Xiaoping Theory and the important thought of Three Represents, study and implement Jiang's thought on national defense and army building in a down-to-earth manner, and continuously push forward the military's revolutionization, modernization and regularization process," he stated.

Hu underlined the necessity to coordinate and balance the country's economic and national defense development, urging the military to seek a new path of modernization with "low cost yet high efficiency."

"We shall work hard to build, on the basis of economic development, a military force that conforms to the interests of our country's security and development, to effectively safeguard national security and unification and guarantee the smooth building of a comparatively affluent society in China," said Hu.

CMC Vice Chairmen Guo Boxiong, Cao Gangchuan and Xu Caihou and CMC members Liang Guanglie, Li Jinai, Liao Xilong, Zhang Dingfa and Jing Zhiyuan were present at the meeting.

(Xinhua News Agency March 14, 2005)