TAIYUAN - President Xi Jinping has called for improving the country's rocket launch and test capabilities.

Xi, who also is general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, commented as he inspected a space force unit in Shanxi province on Thursday.

About 9 am, Xi arrived at the unit's history museum. The military base, first set up in 1960s, was domestically designed and built national defense testing ground.

Xi recognized the efforts of officers and staff of the base in the past 50 years and said the Party and the people should show gratitude for their outstanding contributions in promoting the national defense power.

He also urged to care more about the life of the officers and soldiers at the base and help them solve problems.

The president then paid a visit to the base's cultural and sports center, where he met with the base's officers and asked them to make concerted efforts to develop new combat forces that can be integrated into the PLA's joint operation system.

Xi also stressed deepening the military and civilian integration, and he encouraged the aerospace forces to play an exemplary role in this area for all the armed forces.

Xinhua