HONG KONG -- It is imperative to ensure both overall jurisdiction by the central authorities and a high degree of autonomy in the special administrative region (SAR), President Xi Jinping said here on Friday.

The central authorities exercise overall jurisdiction over the SAR, which constitutes the source of a high degree of autonomy in the SAR; at the same time, the central authorities fully respect and firmly safeguard the high degree of autonomy enjoyed by the SAR as enshrined in law, Xi said at the meeting celebrating the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the motherland and the inaugural ceremony of the sixth-term government of the Hong Kong SAR.

"Enforcing the central authorities' overall jurisdiction and upholding the SAR's high degree of autonomy are integral aspects of the same policy, and only by ensuring both can we run the SAR truly well," Xi said.