Xi encourages newly enrolled cadets to strive for excellence

Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, has called on 20 newly enrolled cadets from a school in Anhui province to strive to become high-quality, professional military personnel and contribute to the modernization of national defense and the armed forces.

Xi, who is also Chinese president and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in a letter replying to 20 students of the province's Qianshan Yezhai Middle School who have been accepted into military academies. The reply letter was made public on Thursday.

In his letter, Xi commended the students for choosing to serve the country through military service, and he congratulated them on being accepted into military academies and starting their military careers.

He emphasized that advancing the cause of a strong military requires the continuous efforts of aspiring young people. He expressed his hope that the students would cultivate a loyal character, study hard, train diligently and strive to become high-caliber and specialized military talent, contributing to the modernization of national defense and the military.

Qianshan Yezhai Middle School, located in the old revolutionary base area in the Dabie Mountains on the borders of Anhui, Hubei and Henan provinces, is known for its distinctive national defense education. This year, over 100 students from the school applied to military academies, with 20 of them being accepted into nine different military academies.

Recently, the 20 students wrote to Xi, expressing their determination to contribute to strengthening national defense.