Xi stresses upholding Marxism, advancing theories

President Xi Jinping on Tuesday called for upholding Marxism as the guiding ideology and exploring theoretical innovations based on practice.

Xi made the remarks while addressing a gathering marking the 40th anniversary of the reform and opening-up.

The practices over the past 40 years have shown that innovation is the lifeline of reform and opening-up, Xi said.

Xi called for efforts to base the Party's theory on reality and "answer the questions of our times and of the people" in a timely manner.

"We must update and popularize Marxism in the context of a modern day China, and make new breakthroughs in developing Marxism," Xi said.