Chinese President Hu Jintao said Saturday that the year of 2005 will be of crucial importance for China in its drive to "build a relatively prosperous society" in face of opportunities and challenges arising from both domestic and international fields.

Hu, also general secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), made the remarks at a New Year tea party held by the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Saturday morning, attended by leaders from all political parties, as well as noted figures representing people from different walks of life.

After reviewing China's social and economic achievements in the past year, Hu said that "we are faced with opportunities that need to be tightly grasped and challenges to be seriously handled" under the conditions that China's social and economic development has entered a crucial stage and profound changes are undergoing in the international arena.

Top on his work agenda is "fast and healthy" economic development this year.

"In the new year, we shall continue to strengthen and improve macro-economic control, speed up reform and opening up process for the transformation of mode of economic expansion, so as to maintain fast and healthy development of national economy," Hu said.

He pledged to advance socialist democracy by upholding the leadership of the Party, ensuring that the people have the final say on state affairs under the principle of rule of law. "Our socialist democracy shall be further expanded and the socialist legal framework better composed."

For the building of a harmonious society, the Communist Party of China and the government shall function by the mandate of the people, empathize with the feelings of the people, work for the well-being of the people, do its best to solve difficulties of the people and properly handle various conflicting interests in the society, the president said.

"The CPC is built for the public and exercises the state power for the people," Hu stressed. The Party shall launch a nationwide campaign to educate its members for the improvement of its ruling capacity.

On the issue of Taiwan, Hu said that China will adhere to the fundamental policy of "peaceful reunification and one country, two systems" and the Eight-Point Proposal on the process to develop cross-Straits relations and propel the peaceful reunification of the motherland in the present period," adding that the mainland will continue "to promote cross-Straits exchanges in personnel and economic and cultural spheres and maintain stability of the cross-Straits situations.

"Here I once again reiterate that we will strive for the prospect of peaceful reunification with the utmost sincerity and effort," he said.

He called for resuming cross-Straits talks and negotiation based on the one-China principle as early as possible.

"We, however, will never allow anyone to separate Taiwan from China in any form, and the Chinese government and Chinese people will never hesitate to safeguard China's sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said.

The central government will in the New Year adhere to the policies of "one country, two systems," "Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong" and "Macao People governing Macao" with a high degree of autonomy, Hu said.

China will uphold the banner of peace, development and cooperation, continue to pursue its long-standing independent foreign policy of peace in its road of peaceful development, Hu said, adding that China will work with people all over the world for the establishment of a new world political and economic order and the promotion of peace and development.

He also encouraged the CPPCC to play a bigger role in coming up with new ideas and suggestions and supervise the Party and the government in its daily work.

(Xinhua News Agency January 1, 2005)