BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday urged the country's armed forces to courageously assume their responsibility in safeguarding national sovereignty and interests.

"We expect peace, but we shall never give up efforts to maintain our legitimate rights, nor shall we compromise our core interests, no matter when or in what circumstances," Xi said while joining a plenary meeting of the People's Liberation Army delegation at the ongoing legislative session.

Xi, also chairman of the Central Military Commission, called on the armed forces personnel to be firm in faith and loyal in mission.

To build a strong army, China should capitalize on strategic opportunities to deepen national defense and military reforms to resolve the institutional, structural and policy restrains, Xi said.

"We should break our fixed mindset to foster a mode of thinking that is in line with our goal of building a strong army," Xi stressed, calling for the creation of a cozy environment for pressing ahead with reforms.

Emphasizing the state's leading role in the process, Xi also called for the function of the market to jointly create a highly effective development pattern that features army-civilian integration.