State Councilor Zhou Yongkang has urged Chinese courts to protect the fundamental interests of the people and ensure judicial justice, in order to provide a powerful judicial guarantee for the country to achieve moderate prosperity.

Zhou, who is a member of both the Political Bureau and Secretariat of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said this during a visit Thursday to the Supreme People's Court, in the company of Xiao Yang, president of the supreme court.

During his visit, Zhou inspected the supreme court's department responsible for receiving complaints from ordinary people.

In talks with the staff of the supreme court, the official urged courts of all levels to resolve problems that have been strongly complained about by the people.

Meanwhile, he has called for ensuring the implementation of the Constitution and laws and making substantial efforts to safeguard the judicial authority.

(Xinhua News Agency April 23, 2004)