BEIJING -- President Xi Jinping on Saturday underlined a "clean and upright" political ecology and urged leading officials to uphold rule of law.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, compared political ecology to natural ecology that can be easily polluted and, if damaged, will cost a huge price to be rehabilitated, at a panel discussion with deputies to the 13th National People's Congress from southwestern municipality of Chongqing.

Xi stressed that a clean and upright political ecology is an essential requirement for safeguarding the authority and centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee, an urgent need for ensuring full and strict governance over the Party, and a vital guarantee for fulfilling reform and development targets.

Leading officials should demonstrate leadership and set an example, he said.