Efforts to modernize nation's public security work encouraged

President Xi Jinping has called on the police force to forge ahead with the modernization of China's public security work and contribute to the building of a strong socialist nation and national rejuvenation.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks on Tuesday while meeting with police personnel attending a national conference on public security work in Beijing.

The president greeted the representatives at the Great Hall of the People before having a group photo taken with them.

The national conference was held five years after Xi delivered an important speech at a similar event in Beijing.

Chen Wenqing, head of the Commission for Political and Legal Affairs of the CPC Central Committee, spoke at the conference on Wednesday. He urged the police force to stay loyal, clean, and ready to rise to duty.

The police force should faithfully fulfill its duties and missions, spare no efforts in preventing risks, ensuring security and maintaining stability, and promote development, he said.

Chen highlighted the significance of police officers continuously enhancing the quality, efficiency and credibility of law enforcement, saying that the police force should be strengthened through resolute reforms.

China is a country with one of the world's lowest crime and homicide rates, and fewest incidents involving guns and explosions, as revealed in recent data from the Ministry of Public Security.

According to the ministry's report released on Monday, the country witnessed a notable 12.9 percent decrease in the number of criminal cases filed nationwide last year, compared with 2019.

Meanwhile, the number of reported theft, robbery and fraud cases nationwide decreased 31.4 percent compared with 2019, while cases of abduction and trafficking decreased 66.6 percent.