1st Ld: President Xi calls for better role of "mass organizations"

President Xi Jinping said on Tuesday that China's 1.3 billion people should be better mobilized by mass organizations to achieve the country's full potential.

The work of mass organizations is an important component of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) work, as they are the channels that connect the public with the CPC, Xi said at a conference on improving mass organizations.

Mass organizations represent people from different lines of work or age groups, such as trade unions, youth leagues and women's groups.

Mass organizations should mobilize the citizens to closely unite around the CPC and converge people's passion for better life into a strong force... and jointly work for the realization of the Chinese Dream of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, Xi said.

"The Party should always share the fate of the people, with their hearts closely linked together," he said.

He also called for the establishment of more powerful organizations that would play an important role in advancing state governance.

This was the first time that the CPC Central Committee has held such a conference, he said, adding the meeting's major task was to address new problems with the Party's work on mass organizations.

The president noted that mass organizations had played a positive role in encouraging the public to follow the Party's leadership.

But he warned there was a risk of "being alienated from the people."

"In today's day and age, the work of mass organizations should be improved, not weakened or allowed to stagnate," he said.

These organizations must always follow the leadership of the CPC so that the people can be united around the CPC in the "widest and closet way," he said.

These organizations should lead the people by encouraging them to stick to the socialist path with Chinese characteristics and championing the practice of "core socialist values," he said.

Xi noted that such mass organizations must enhance engagement with the masses and focus more on the grass roots, said Xi.

Leaders must "immerse themselves with the masses, serving them wholeheartedly, while carrying out the mass-line firmly," said Xi.

He added that the management and operation of these organizations should be adjusted to better suit modern life.

"More outstanding people should be encouraged to join mass organizations."

Xi also stressed that mass organizations should better serve the people and pay special attention to helping those in need. Endi